


The Breath You Take

by alienat



Series: Breath'verse [1]
Category: CW Network RPF, Supernatural RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-13
Updated: 2012-04-13
Packaged: 2017-11-03 11:40:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 71,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/380982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alienat/pseuds/alienat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where werewolves and humans live next to each other but haven’t mated in over five-hundred years, Jensen and Jared met, hit it off and became fast friends. Jared, the son of Seattle pack’s alpha, is already very much in love with Jensen – even though he knows there’s no chance for their happily-ever-after – when a night of drunken sex changes everything both of them believed to be true.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> All the art is made by my sweet [](http://amysticka.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://amysticka.livejournal.com/)**amysticka**. Comments are love.

  


 

 

  


  


Jensen’s on his way to his next appointment when his cell vibrates announcing a new text. He fumbles it out of his short’s pocket and flips it open.

_Remember, lunch at 1, asshole._

He snorts and shakes his head.

“Your boyfriend?” Alona asks with a smirk. 

Alona is the receptionist at the physiotherapy department at Seattle General Hospital – SGH, a cute little thing with long blonde hair and a heart of gold. Sometimes, though, Jensen thinks her only task is to drive him crazy. He rolls his eyes at her. 

“Nope. Jared.”

Alona grins and says, “See, that’s what I said.”

He sticks out his tongue at her, totally ignoring the fact that he’s thirty years old. You’re never too old to use this very effective way of showing your friends that you don’t appreciate their humor. Alona just cackles and hands him his next patient’s file. 

“Just tell him ‘Hi’ when you see him at lunch.”

Jensen waves at her and makes his way through the endless hallways of SGH. 

It’s not that Jared’s not hot, because honestly, Jared’s smoking – tall, ripped, hot ass and killer smile with dimples – and Jensen can very well appreciate that fact. But there’re two things why nothing will ever happened between them. 

First: They’re best friends and that’s sacred ground to Jensen. He might have a lot of friends, but he only has two or three best friends who know almost all of his deep dark secrets and Jared’s one of them. 

Second: Jared’s a werewolf. Not that Jensen’s never had sex with a werewolf. Hey, he went to college. But Jared’s a relationship kinda guy and that means he’s looking for his mate. So, even if Jensen would do relationships – which he doesn’t – the thing with Jared would never work, because humans and werewolves don’t mate.

So yeah, nothing will ever happen between them. It’s kinda sad, because Jensen just knows that Jared would be an awesome lay. But the thing is, he can appreciate that Jared’s looking for his one and only soul mate. He might not believe in the shit that’s written in crappy romance novels about finding your other half and everlasting love, but Jared does. It’s the way he was raised and that’s fine with Jensen, as long as he gets Jared as his friend he can keep his dick in his pants. 

He pushes the door to examination room one open and smiles at his patient – 42 year old Mr. Miller blew out his knee while chasing a squirrel through the woods. 

Four years ago, he might have found it weird to treat a werewolf; not many of them live in Dallas, but nowadays it’s daily business. It’s actually how he and Jared met. 

_Two years ago_

“Jensen, can you take a look at the patient in exam two, please?” Alona says. “He’s been sitting there for hours because Kripke had an emergency.”

Jensen frowns. What emergency could a physical therapist have?

Alona sighs. “It’s his wife.”

And then Jensen gets it, because Mrs. Kripke is a little – well, let’s say difficult. “Sure thing, Al. Just give me the file.”

As soon as Alona hands him the file, he makes his way to exam two and pushes the room open, stopping dead in his tracks. The guy who’s sitting on the exam table is gorgeous, high cheek bones, angular jaw and floppy brown hair that falls into his face. 

“Uhm, Mr. Padalecki?”

The guy smiles and there are dimples and Jensen’s so damn screwed. 

“Call me Jared. Mr. Padalecki is my dad.”

Jensen clears his throat. “Okay, then, Jared. I’m Dr. Ackles. Dr. Kripke is away on an emergency. So that’s why I’ll check you out today.” At Jared’s amused chuckle, Jensen realizes what he’s just said and looks at the ground, wishing for it to open up and swallow him whole. “I meant your injury, of course.”

Jared grins. “Of course.”

To change the subject, Jensen looks at Jared’s file, raising his eyebrows at what he finds. “So, you broke your collarbone while fighting another werewolf?”

“We were only playing,” Jared says and rolls his eyes. “My mom overreacts sometimes. But really, Chad and I were only having a small disagreement.”

“And you decided to settle this by having a fight as a wolf?” Jensen asks skeptically. 

Jared shrugs and winces a little when the movement pulls on his shoulder. “It’s what we do. It’s nice to blow off some steam from time to time.”

Jensen rolls his eyes. He never had a lot to do with werewolves when he grew up, but he learned quickly in college that some of them loved to indulge in their wolves’ side. He doesn’t get it, never has. He’d rather walk away from a fight than head-first into one. 

“Little reckless, don’t you think?” he asks and Jared laughs. 

“You should have seen us when we were pups.”

Jensen had finished the examination back then and when he walked away, thought he’d never see Jared again. He had thought wrong, because Jared had been at the bar Chris and Steve owned, and Jensen spent most of his weekends at, on the following Friday and they had talked about things Jensen can’t even remember anymore ‘til closing time. They’d been inseparable since. 

It went so far that six months ago, Jared had moved into Jensen’s apartment when Chad had mated with Sophia and had moved in with her.

Jensen thinks they have a pretty good deal going on, but others might say they’re pretty much co-dependent. Okay, so yeah, they spend most of their time together. So what? 

  


“Dude!” Jared exclaims, when Jensen puts his tray on the table in the hospital cafeteria. 

He frowns. “What?”

“What’s that?” Jared asks, pointing at the apple and the salad with chicken. 

“My lunch,” Jensen says defiantly, dropping to the chair next to Jared. 

“No way.” Jared shakes his head. “That’s not lunch. That’s… rabbit food.”

Jensen snorts and punches Jared in the shoulder. “Well at least I won’t die of clogged arteries and a resulting heart attack,” he shoots back, looking pointedly at Jared’s two double cheeseburgers and fries. 

Jared eyes his food carefully and then shrugs. “I need my meat.”

Jensen huffs out a laugh. “Yeah sure, you big, scary werewolf, you.”

Jared is not beneath throwing food at him, which Jensen learns when one of the fries hits him square in the forehead. 

“Right,” he drawls. “I forgot that you’re more of a pup than a big, scary werewolf.”

Jared starts to throw another one of his fries at him, when it’s snatched out of his hand and disappears into Chad’s mouth.

“What’s this? Lover’s quarrel?” he asks and Jensen rolls his eyes. 

“You know I only love you, Chad,” Jared retorts and Chad sticks out his tongue. 

See, Jensen’s not the only one using that tactic. And what’s with all the people hinting that he and Jared are a couple. Just because they live together and do mostly everything else together, doesn’t mean they’re in a relationship. 

“So, Chris and Steve’s gig on Saturday,” Jensen says, changing the topic effectively. “You and Soph are coming, right?”

Somehow, after Jared and Jensen became Siamese twins, their two groups of friends conformed into one large group of friends. Jensen really doesn’t mind; he likes all of Jared’s friends, even though Chad can be kind of an asshole from time to time. But then who isn’t. Jensen himself is an asshole most of the time, especially when it comes to the guys he goes home with. 

Like he said, he’d rather avoid a fight. So that means he’s normally gone when the guys get up in the morning. 

“Of course, dude,” Chad says, pushing one of his fries into his mouth. “Soph threatened to castrate me and never have sex again if we didn’t go,” he adds, looking terrified.

Jensen laughs. Sophia is seven months pregnant and he knows how protective Chad can get when it comes to his pups. But apparently she’s found a way to keep him in check. 

“Aww, Chad’s afraid to die of blue balls,” Jared snickers. 

“Hey, speaking off. How’s that right hand of yours?” 

Now, Chad also gets one of the fries thrown at his head. Jensen leans back in his chair, munching on his apple and watching his friends banter goodheartedly. 

It’s pretty sweet that both of them are now in their first year as interns at the hospital and Jensen gets to hang around with them on breaks and such. Of course, they have a much crueler schedule than Jensen does, but Jensen’s just happy that he gets to spend some time with Jared. 

“My mom asked if you’ll join us for lunch on Sunday.” Jared’s voice penetrates his mind and he looks up, nodding. 

“Yeah sure.”

It’s tradition at the Padalecki household to have lunch on the second Sunday of every month and since his first visit to their house eighteen months ago, Jensen’s always been invited. 

“Jeff and the pups will be there.”

Jensen sees how Jared’s eyes light up when he mentions his niece and nephew. They adore their Uncle Jay too and Jensen always likes watching Jared joke and play with them. He’s going to be an amazing dad one day. 

There, another reason nothing will ever happen between Jensen and Jared. Jared’s a family man, he wants kids and Jensen would never be able to give him that. So, yeah it’s a good thing they’re just friends. 

“They’ll be thrilled to see their Uncle Jay.”

Jared grins and then jerks when his beeper goes off and a second later Chad’s does too. They look at them and then simultaneously get up. Jensen just waves them away. 

“Go. I’ll take care of this.” He motions at the trays standing on the table. 

  


It’s late that night when Jensen hears the front door unlock. He’s already in bed, but he knows that if Jared had to stay this long at the hospital, it was probably pretty bad. So, he climbs out of bed and shuffles into the living room. 

“Hey, sorry didn’t mean to wake you.”

Jared looks worse for wear and Jensen just shakes his head, walking into the kitchen and getting them both a beer. He shoves it into Jared’s hand and sits down next to him on the couch. 

“You wanna talk about it?”

Jared takes a long gulp from the bottle and then shakes his head. “Not right now. But thanks.”

Jensen nods and turns on the TV. There’s has to be some football game they can watch. He finds one on ESPN Classics and they watch in silence while the Seahawks kick the ass of the 49ers. Jensen could care less about the score, though. Jared, however, seems to relax with every move that plays out on the field. It’s what Jensen counts as a win. 

  


“Dude, you’re joining us on stage tonight, right?”

Damn, Jensen hoped Chris would give him a break tonight. But he should have known better, because Chris really doesn’t know when to leave things well enough alone. 

“I rather wouldn’t,” he says and turns away from the bar, while sipping on his beer and resting his elbows on the counter. 

“Aww, Jenny, c’mon,” Chris whines. “It’s not the same without you, man.”

Jensen sighs. 

He’s known Chris for a long time, a really fucking long time. It was in pre-school when Robert Peterson tried to steal his Scooby Doo sandwich box with the tuna sandwich from heaven – made by his parents’ maid Rosanna – in it, and Chris stepped in to help the snot-nosed kid who didn’t know how to fight for himself. 

Jensen doesn’t know why, but somehow Chris has had his back ever since, playing big brother – a role, Josh, his real big brother has never known how to fill. Chris had been the one to show him the ropes; had been the one to clean his scraped knees and dry his tears when he was still young enough to let them flow. 

He’d been the one to tell Jensen to flip his parents the bird and move to Seattle with Chris and Steve four years ago. The job offer from Seattle General Hospital had done the rest. 

In their teenage years Jensen used to play in the band with two of them, after Steve joined their tight-knit circle in the freshman year of high school. They had had a few gigs down in Dallas and Jensen really liked singing and playing guitar, getting lost in the music and its meaning. But being on stage never meant the same to him as it did to Chris and Steve, so he stopped joining them on stage. 

Chris never got the message and he still tries to get Jensen to permanently sing with them again. Once Jared told him to back the fuck off and that if Jensen didn’t want to sing, it’d be his decision and Chris should just suck it up and accept it. Chris has stepped up on the bribery of free beers to get Jensen up on stage ever since. 

“It’s just not my world up there,” Jensen says slowly, after a while; hoping Chris would drop the topic. 

By now he should really know better. Chris never, ever drops a topic, especially not one involving Jensen.

“Well, you could use it as a way to declare your undying love to Jared.” Chris waggles his eyebrows, when Jensen shoots him a glare over his shoulder. “What?”

Jensen huffs and takes another sip of his beer. “Why the hell does everybody assume that there’s something going on between me and Jared?”

Chris cocks his head and looks at Jensen as if he was slow on the uptake. “Why not, it’s about time. You’ve been what? Dancing around each other for the last two years?”

“You guys really don’t get it, do you?” Jensen shakes his head. “Jared and I are friends, just friends. Besides, he’s been looking for his one true love, or some other bullshit, since he turned twenty-one. So even if I would date – which I wouldn’t – it’d never work, because I’m human.”

A shadow falls across Chris’ face and he lets out a slow deliberate breath. “Don’t you think it’s time to move on, Jen? It’s been what, five years?”

“Don’t,” Jensen spits out, turning around to face the stage again. “We’re not talking about this.” 

He can hear Chris sigh behind him and takes a gulp from his bottle. This is not a conversation they need to have; not today, not tomorrow. Chris should know better than to mention it again. 

A heavy arm lands around his shoulders and he’s pulled into a bear hug. He chuckles, clapping Jared’s back and definitely not sniffing how good Jared smells, definitely not. 

“Hey, asshole. Let me go. Some people need to breath.”

Jared rolls his eyes, when he lets Jensen go. “I’m not a vampire. They aren’t real.”

Jensen pumps his fist into the air and says, “Thank god, otherwise I’d feel like someone dropped me right into _Twilight_.”

“’I hope you’d choose the werewolf, instead of the vampire, if you were. Pattinson is so not hot.” Jared shudders and Jensen chokes on a laugh. 

“How do you even know that?”

Jared winks at him and grins. “I watch TV. You should try it sometimes; it’s quite entertaining and maybe even educational.”

Jensen shakes his head, but there’s a smile on his face when he punches Jared in the arm. “Dude, where’re the others? I thought that’s why you didn’t come home before, because Mike and Tom would pick you up at work.”

“It is,” Jared nods. “Don’t know where Mike and Tom are; don’t really want to know, either. Maybe Chris should check the bathrooms for any treacherous signs later.”

“Dude! TMI!” Chris exclaims and flips his dishtowel at Jared over the bar. 

Jared laughs and it takes him second, before he’s calmed down enough to continue, “Sophia had to go to the bathroom and made Chad wait in the hallway for her.”

Jensen chuckles, that sounds exactly like something Sophia would do. They all love her, but for a girl she can get very scary, in Jensen’s opinion. 

“I didn’t make Chad do anything.”

Jensen turns and sees Sophia grinning at him, her right hand protectively curled around her large belly. He grins back and leans forward slightly, kissing her cheek quickly. 

“Of course not,” he whispers and she laughs a little.

He’s about to vacant his barstool for her, when she grabs his left hand, pressing it her belly. “Feel, Jen. It’s amazing.”

There’s a flutter at first and then a strong kick against where Sophia’s placed his hand. His eyes grow wide. 

“Wow, Soph. He’s gonna be a football player.”

She nods enthusiastically. “I know, right. His sister is much quieter.”

Jensen smiles at her enthusiasm. It’s still amazes him to know that there are two little persons growing inside Sophia and to actually feel them move, causes goose bumps to appear on Jensen’s skin. 

“Pretty amazing, huh?” Jared whispers, breaths ghosting over Jensen’s neck. 

He suppresses the urge to shiver and pulls away, giving Jared a bright smile and a nod, vacating the barstool for Sophia to sit on. She grins. 

“You’re such a gentleman, Jen. This one,” she points at Chad, “could learn something from you.”

Chad snorts. “Yeah right, only if I wanted to take it up the ass from now on.” He points his finger at Sophia, “Which I don’t, so don’t get any ideas.”

Jared clears his throat. “Thanks, now I’m scarred for life, just thinking about Chad on his knees.”

Jensen splutters, having tried to take a sip of his beer at the worst possible time, and rolls his eyes at Jared. “Don’t give me ideas, dude.”

Jared’s arm lands around his shoulders and he’s pulled against a warm, hard chest. His dick gives a twitch at the idea of Jared’s crotch being right there. _What?_ He’s a guy and like he said Jared’s smokin’. But he also knows how to keep his dick in his pants. 

“I know you only want me,” Jared says low and seductively, winking at Jensen. 

Rolling his eyes, Jensen pushes Jared away and thanks whoever’s up there that Chris and Steve picked the exact moment to come out onto the stage, starting their concert. 

  


Jared slams the car door and Jensen winces. “Dude, a little quieter, please.”

“Aww, does the baby have a boo-boo?” Jared teases him in baby speech. 

He snarls and pushes his shades up on the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes for a little while longer. Last night was great and very alcoholic. Now Jensen has the hangover from hell and he can’t really understand why Jared’s always so perky in the mornings, it’s sickening. 

“Well, I can tell you one thing. My dad makes the best hangover smoothies in the whole, wide world.”

Jensen groans. The last thing he needs is Gerry making him hangover smoothies, the thought alone makes his stomach protest. What he needs is more sleep and coffee, preferable black and very strong. 

“I’m sure mom will have coffee ready for you,” Jared says softly, squeezing Jensen’s thigh. 

He’s never been touched so much in his whole life as he has since Jared kinda dropped into Jensen’s life and made himself comfortable. It should make him uncomfortable, but it really doesn’t, he actually likes Jared being so tactile. 

Jensen moans a little and hears Jared chuckle quietly. “Just sleep, Jen. It’ll be an hour before we get there.”

Jared’s parents live an hour outside of Seattle in a small village in the woods. As far as Jensen knows, Gerry drives into the city every day for his work – he owns a not so small architecture firm – and pack business, but their house in the little village is their safe haven and Jensen loves it there. It’s secluded, sitting at the end of a dirt road and being completely surrounded by trees. 

On a good day, when it’s not raining buckets and the sun’s coming through, it shines through the branches and leaves, painting rays of hope. 

It’s beautiful and Jensen can’t imagine what it’d be like to grow up in a house that smells like fresh baked cookies and old wood. The house he grew up in smelled always of the citric cleaning agent Rosanna used to scrub the spotless floors. There was never the controlled mess that dominates the Padalecki house and Jensen has never felt as much at home there as he feels when he visits Jared’s parents. 

Jared parks the car next to Jeff’s, Jared’s brother, Land Rover, when Jensen finally blinks awake. He lets out a deep breath, smelling the fresh air and yawning heartily. He hasn’t even put a foot out the door when two balls of fluff throw themselves at him and he laughs. 

“Hello, kids.”

Laura and Kyle are Jeff and Sarah’s pups and are two little balls of energy, especially in their wolf form. They seem to never tire, but Jensen likes them. He’s always amazed by the easiness they seem to shift from one form to the other and once told Jared so. Jared had only laughed at him saying that all cubs were able to do that. 

There’s a shrill whistle and then Jeff’s loud voice cuts through the air. “Laura, Kyle, what did I tell you about greeting people properly?”

The pups turn their heads and in a sec they’re changed back to their human form, hugging Jensen’s legs before rushing over to Jared and letting him carry them inside by letting them stand on his feet. Jensen grins and greets Jeff with a good handshake. 

Sherry, Jared’s mom, is in the kitchen, finishing up the lasagna she’s making for lunch and greets Jensen with broad smile and a kiss to his cheek. She’d practically adopted him when she heard that his parents were all the way back in Texas and Jensen would be lying if he’d say he didn’t like it. 

“Honey, there’s coffee. You know where the cups are,” she says, after she takes another look at him and he almost blushes. “Long night, huh?” she teases. 

Jensen just nods and pours himself a cup of coffee, smelling it before taking a sip and groaning at how good it tastes. So much better than hospital coffee. 

“Kinda,” he answers. “Chris and Steve had a gig at the bar and we had a little celebration of how well it went after that.”

She smiles. “You should let Gerry make you a hangover smoothie. He’s a master at it.”

He’s about to open his mouth to reply when Gerry and Jared come into the kitchen and Gerry’s ears peak up at his name being mentioned. 

“Who wants a hangover smoothie?” he asks, looking delighted at the fact that his help is needed. 

At the same time Jensen says ‘Nobody’, Sherry says ‘Jensen’ and Jensen knows it’s a lost cause from the way Gerry lights up at the prospect of making Jensen one of his famous smoothies. 

Ten minutes later Jensen finds himself on the couch with a large glass that contains a suspicious looking green liquid in it. He eyes it carefully, expecting it to jump him at any second. 

“It’s not as bad as it looks,” Jared says, sitting down next to him. “And it really helps.”

Jensen sighs, looking at his friend with a skeptic look on his face. “If you say so.” 

Then, he takes a deep breath and swallows the whole thing in one go. Jared’s right, it’s not that bad. It’s not good, either, but Jensen won’t have to throw up or anything, so he counts it as a win. What’s even better is that it really helps and half an hour later Jensen feels better and his headache is completely gone. He can even enjoy Sherry’s lasagna and take seconds. 

The afternoon is spent with conversations about everything and nothing, watching a football game on TV and keeping an eye out on the pups, playing in the backyard. 

It’s Jensen’s perfect way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon and when Jared drives them home around 6 p.m. he’s happy, relaxed and sated, chatting about the upcoming week with Jared and watching the landscape fly by. 

  


The next couple of weeks fly by, without Jensen seeing much of Jared, except for when they have lunch at the hospital. Otherwise Jared’s doing a butt load of hours and Jensen’s been left alone in their apartment. 

It makes him cranky and he really doesn’t want to think about why that is. So, he buries himself in his new research project about new methods of prosthesis and goes to bed early. 

It’s a Thursday and raindrops are heavily hitting the window when his cell phone rings. He’s too occupied in the medical thesis he’s reading to look at the display, otherwise he might not have picked up. 

“Hello?”

“JR?” a sickly sweet voice asks and he sits up straighter, his shoulders tensing and he curses internally for picking up the phone. 

“Yeah, Mom.”

There’s a long pause and Jensen knows his mother is expecting him to say something, anything to explain the year they haven’t spoken away. He can’t think of a single word. 

His mother lets out an exasperated sigh. “Well, I really thought you would have something to say for yourself. But I guess not. I really shouldn’t be surprised.” Jensen bites the inside of his cheek to keep from screaming at his mother and she continues, “The reason I’m calling is that your father turns 60 in two weeks time. We’re holding a huge dinner party and expect you to attend. Just give me your email address and I’ll send you the specifics.”

Jensen lets out a deep breath. He hasn’t been back to Texas in four years. Ever since he’d packed his bags and climbed into Chris’ truck, he hadn’t looked back once and now his mother expects him to attend his father’s 60th birthday dinner party. Just the thought turns his stomach upside down. 

“Mom…”

“This is not up for discussion, JR. You are going to be here. You will smile and play the good son for once. Don’t you think you’ve disappointed us all enough?”

Her cold voice cuts through his defenses like a knife through butter and he feels himself starting to shake. 

“Yes, ma’am,” he says quietly. 

“Good. Now tell me where I should send the e-vite.”

He tells her and as soon as the call is disconnected he makes his way over into the kitchen and pulls out the whiskey bottle they stash there. Instead of pouring himself a glass, he takes a gulp right out of the bottle, relishing the burn in his throat when the liquid goes down. 

Then he gets out his cell and sends a quick message to Jared, saying _‘Need to get drunk, going over to Kane’s’_. Kane’s is the name of Chris and Steve’s bar and Jensen knows that Jared will come and get him after his shift at the hospital. He always does. 

When Jared finally gets there three hours after the text, Jensen’s fully on his way to being plastered. He throws his arms around Jared’s neck and almost knocks them both over, only Jared’s spidey sense, or whatever, keeping them from landing on the floor. 

“Uhm, Jen?” Jared asks confused. “What’s going on? You alright?”

“Take me home, Jay,” Jensen mumbles against the soft skin of Jared’s neck, taking in the unique scent of Jared’s aftershave. 

He can hear Jared talking to Chris and Steve for a moment, but he really doesn’t care what they’re talking about, Jared’s so warm and feels so good. Then they’re outside and Jensen shivers when cold air hits him, but Jared wraps his arms around his body and warmth seeps into him. Jared’s always so warm and snuggly. Jensen sighs contently and lets Jared manhandle him into the car. 

Ten minutes later, Jared’s pulling him upstairs and into their apartment. As soon as Jared drops him on his bed, he wraps his hand around Jared’s wrist. 

“Don’t leave,” he whispers. 

There’s this tiny voice in his head that tells him this is such a bad idea, but for once in his life he wants to have his cake and eat it too. Just for one night he wants Jared to be his, just one teeny tiny moment of the feeling that he could have this, then everything will be fine again. 

“Jen,” Jared breathes, prying Jensen’s fingers away from his wrist. His voice is shaky and Jensen knows that Jared wants to stay.

He puts his arms around Jared’s neck, pulling him down. “Please, don’t tell me ‘no’.”

Jared looks stricken and Jensen presses a soft kiss to the corner of his mouth. For a second Jared tenses, but then turns his head a little and their lips meet for the first time. Jared’s lips are soft and plush; perfect for hours of kissing and exploring, but Jensen has different things in mind. 

He pulls on Jared’s t-shirt, until he gets it over his head and feels bare skin beneath his hands. Running his fingertips over Jared’s ripped muscles, he licks his way down Jared’s neck and to one of his nipples. Jared arches into his touch and Jensen moans, rolling the tight light nub beneath his tongue. 

“Oh shit,” Jared pants. “We shouldn’t… we really shouldn’t.”

Jared’s right, this’ll fuck everything up, but for once Jensen just wants and he shuts Jared up with a passionate kiss. Plunging his tongue into Jared’s mouth, he pushes his hand into the waistband of Jared’s jeans, wrapping his fingers around Jared’s cock. It’s hard and Jensen can feel the knot at the base. He squeezes and Jared growls deep in his chest. 

Jensen’s been knotted before; once or twice in college while experimenting, and he wants to know how Jared’s knot would feel inside of him, filling him up to the point where he thinks he might burst, making him come for hours. 

Clever hands push beneath his shirt, pulling it over his head and then Jared’s kissing and licking his way down Jensen’s chest, popping the button of his jeans and pulling down the zipper. 

Jensen lets out a deep breath, his fingers entangling in Jared’s long silky hair and lifting his head. He doesn’t want there to be any misunderstanding. 

“I want you to knot me, Jay.” His voice is soft, but steady and he sees Jared’s eyes widen in what could be lust or shock. 

“Jensen…”

“I’m serious, Jay,” he says, never taking his eyes off the man kneeling between his legs. “I want it. Please.”

Jared scoots up and then he’s kissing Jensen, his tongue curling around Jensen’s and making him moan. Jared’s hands are pushing Jensen’s pants over his hips and then their bare cocks are touching and Jensen wonders for a second when Jared got rid of his jeans before he gets on with the program. He pushes his hips up, rubbing his cock against Jared’s and they both moan into each other’s mouths. 

“Turn around,” Jared orders softly, when he pulls away for a second.

Jensen flops on his belly, feeling Jared’s hands run over his back down to his ass, squeezing. Gentle fingers part his cheeks and then a breath ghosts over his hole, making him shiver. The second Jared’s tongue licks over the rim, Jensen lets out a low groan, his fingers curling in the sheets.

“Need to prepare you properly, Jen,” Jared whispers and Jensen’s surprised that he can hear him over the raging heartbeat in his chest. “Don’t wanna hurt you. If this is the one time we do this I wanna make it so good for you.”

Jared’s voice is shaking, cutting right through Jensen’s heart. He turns his head as far as it’ll go, trying to catch a glimpse of Jared, wanting to reassure him that this won’t fuck everything up, even though he knows it will. 

“Jay,” he says softly. 

“Shh, Jen. I’ve got you.” 

He presses a soft kiss to the small of Jensen’s back and Jensen’s heart clenches at the display of affection. This isn’t supposed to be anything more than sex. But they both know it is. A finger breaches him, slick with lube and Jensen relaxes letting it push inside. It feels good, making his cock twitch against the sheets. He pushes back against it and Jared fucks it in and out of his ass slowly. 

A second finger pushes inside with the first and Jensen moans at the feeling of being stretched. It’s been a few weeks since he did this and he needs a second to get used to Jared’s fingers scissoring and stretching him. 

“So fucking gorgeous, Jen,” Jared whispers against his neck, peppering it with soft kisses. 

Jensen pushes back and Jared’s fingers brush over his prostate. “Fuck, Jay!” he yells and Jared chuckles darkly. 

“You like that?” he asks wickedly, brushing his fingertips over that spot again and again. 

Jensen writhes beneath Jared on the sheets, his cock leaking pre-come and he wants to wrap his hand around it, jerk himself off. Somehow, he knows that Jared wouldn’t appreciate that, though. 

“It’ll be so much better when I have my cock in you, Jen.”

Jared adds a third finger and Jensen feels so full already, but he needs more; needs Jared to fuck him into next week. 

“Do it, Jay,” he grits out. “I’m fucking ready.”

Jared hums, sucking a bruise on Jensen’s neck, before answering, “Okay, Jen.”

The fingers leave his body and Jensen lets out a disappointed moan at the loss, before hissing a breath when Jared’s pushing his cock into his body. Jared’s huge and Jensen groans deep in his chest. He’s always had a thing for big guys. Being so full already, he can’t wait for Jared to knot him. He doesn’t know where the sudden need for Jared’s knot comes from, but he really could care less. 

“Jay, your knot, need it,” he begs shamelessly and Jared growls, fucking him deeper, faster, harder. 

Then something is growing in him, stretching him to the point where it’s almost painful, but Jensen loves every second of it, begging for more. Jared reaches around, wrapping his fingers around Jensen’s leaking cock and stroking it rapidly. His knot is pressing insistently against Jensen’s prostate and it’s all Jensen needs to tumble over the edge. His vision whites out when he comes, pleasure surging through his body and Jared’s knot is still pressing against his prostate. He feels Jared bite his neck when Jared comes, filling him with come and his cock jerks again. 

Eventually he sinks down into Jared’s embrace, feeling Jared’s lips pressed softly against his neck. Even though he just came so hard, like never before, he has the feeling that he could just go again. 

Jared chuckles and Jensen realizes that he must have said it out loud. 

“We’re not finished,” Jared promises, low and dirty.

Jensen hums at the promise and at the wonderful feeling of Jared still hard inside of him. Jared rocks his hips, making Jensen moan and his cock twitch. 

“Not finished for a long time, Jen.” 


	2. The Breath You Take 2/?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a world where werewolves and humans live next to each other but haven’t mated in over five-hundred years, Jensen and Jared met, hit it off and became fast friends. Jared, the son of Seattle pack’s alpha, is already very much in love with Jensen – even though he knows there’s no chance for their happily-ever-after – when a night of drunken sex changes everything both of them believed to be true.

  


When Jared wakes, he feels sated and calm in a way he can’t remember ever feeling. It’s like something’s settled the inner turmoil that has been going on inside of him since he hit his teenage years. He takes in a deep breath and rolls to his side, only to be hit with the image of a sleeping Jensen. 

Shit.

This really happened. They really did this. They had sex, Jared even knotted him and this is something that never should have happened, because now Jared doesn’t know how he’ll ever get those memories out of his head. He closes his eyes for a second and is hit with a vivid image of Jensen writhing and moaning beneath him, begging for more, harder, faster. 

He swallows hard and climbs out of the bed, padding into the bathroom and turning on the shower. Jared can’t believe that he’s been so weak to let this happen, at least Jensen can say he was drunk, but Jared wasn’t. Jared was completely clear in his head when he agreed to Jensen’s requests of knotting him. 

Two years. For fucks sake he’s been fighting this for two years now; he could have fought a little longer, just until he’d found his mate. Now images of Jensen naked are burning behind his eyelids and Jared just knows that he’ll never be able to forget them. 

Stepping under the spray, he turns the faucet to hot and waits for the water to burn his skin, make him forget how Jensen’s fingers felt on it and how it felt to be connected to Jensen so deeply and intimately. 

He feels the alpha inside of him roar in his head, telling his whiny human side to shut up and just claim Jensen again and again, but Jared knows he can’t let the beast out, not now. He remembers his father’s words clearly as if he had said them to Jared yesterday. 

_Son, humans and werewolves don’t mate and you have to think of the pack, JT. You’ll be alpha one day and you need a strong beta at your side for that. We love Jensen like a son, but he can’t be it, JT, and you know it._

Jared does know it and it breaks his heart in two. 

He slams his fist against the tiles, biting back angry tears. Normally, he knows better than to just follow his dick or in this case his heart. After Jeff stepped back from becoming alpha one day, it’s fallen to Jared to lead the pack when his father retires. Suddenly a wave of anger and hatred hits him. Who are they to tell him who to love and spend his life with? He should be able to choose whoever he wants. 

But that’s not how life works and Jared knows it. A human next to Jared would only give the critics enough ammunition to fight him for the pack alpha status. 

He closes his eyes and leans his forehead against the wet tiles, reliving for a last time how it felt to be inside of Jensen. He jerks off to the image of his cock pushing in and out of Jensen’s hole and comes with Jensen’s name on his lips. 

When the water finally runs cold, he gets out of the shower, towels off and pulls on shorts and a t-shirt. Jensen’s still asleep and Jared pulls the door to Jensen’s bedroom closed, giving him a little more time to recover. He starts the coffee machine and puts some bread in the toaster. There are a few eggs left in the box and he whips them up, knowing how much Jensen loves his scrambled eggs. 

It’s still early in the morning, but he dials Chad’s number with his cell anyway, while watching the eggs roast in the pan. 

“Do you know what time it is, dude?” Chad asks in lieu of a greeting. 

“I had sex with Jensen,” Jared replies and hears Chad’s sharp intake of breath. 

“Jay,” his best friends sighs. “Tell me you were drunk or something.”

Jared rubs a hand over his face, before saying slowly, “Jensen was, I wasn’t. But I couldn’t … he asked me to knot him, Chad. What was I supposed to do?”

“Say no!” Chad exclaims and then he hears a muffled apology and a door closing. “Jared, this can only end badly and you know it.”

“I love him, Chad,” Jared whispers. 

Chad sighs again. “Jay, even if you didn’t become alpha one day, the pack would never accept a human as your mate. You know that.”

“Would you?” Jared asks. He thinks he knows the answer, but he needs to hear it himself. 

“Jared…”

“Tell me,” he demands. 

“He can’t protect himself, Jay. He can’t protect you. So no, I couldn’t, because I need to know that your beta is strong and capable of fighting for you.” Jared nods slowly, even though he knows that Chad can’t see him. “Jay, Jensen’s a cool guy, I really like him. But he can’t be your beta.”

“Yeah, I know,” he breathes. 

“Jay,” Chad says and it’s so full of sympathy that Jared feels his heart breaking. “I’m sorry, man, but you need to move on. Maybe you should move out of the apartment, it might help.”

Just the thought of leaving Jensen behind pains Jared. He knows that if he leaves, their friendship will end. This is nothing they can come back from. 

“I’ll think about it.”

“You know where we live if you need a place to stay,” Chad offers. “I have your back, Jay.”

‘ _Yeah, except for when it comes to Jensen_ ,’ Jared thinks bitterly, but doesn’t say it. It’s not Chad’s fault that he thinks the way he does. 

“Okay. I’ll talk to you later.”

As soon as Chad says goodbye, Jared flips his cell shut. He pulls the eggs from the burner and puts them aside mechanically. He has to leave, there’s no other way. He’ll never get over Jensen otherwise. 

There’s a small part in his brain that tells him everything will be okay and he wants to believe that; wants to cling to the calm feeling he woke with this morning. But a bigger part is telling him that this is a completely fucked up mess. 

He walks into Jensen’s bedroom; as much as he wants Jensen to be rested after what they did last night, they need to talk and the scrambled eggs are getting cold. 

“Jen?” he whispers, pushing sweaty strands of hair from Jensen’s forehead. He’s unusually hot and Jared frowns. “Jensen?”

There’s no answer and Jared presses his palm against Jensen’s forehead. He’s burning up and when Jared brushes over the pulse point on his wrist he feels it raging beneath his fingertips. What the hell? 

“Jensen?” he asks louder again. “Jen?” He shakes him a little bit, again no answer. 

Jensen’s eyes are tightly shut and there’s a little frown on his forehead, as if he’s dreaming badly. Jared shakes him a little harder and that’s when he sees the enflamed skin around the bite marks on Jensen’s neck. He lets go of his friend as if struck by lightning and stumbles back. This is… Jared’s not sure what this is, but it’s definitely not normal. 

He’s had casual sex before and he’s bit people before, never did one of them react like this. They were all fine in the morning. 

“Fuck,” he curses, rushing into the bathroom and getting a cold, wet cloth to put on Jensen’s forehead, hoping it will keep the fever in check. 

Then he dials a familiar number on his cell phone, asking Doc Beaver to come over and take a look at Jensen. Doc Beaver has been the family’s doctor ever since Jared can remember and he trusts him with his life. After that he calls the hospital and tells them that he and Jensen are sick and won’t make it in today. 

He goes back to Jensen after he made all necessary calls and sits down on the side of the bed, patting Jensen’s face and chest with the wet cloth. 

“Please be okay,” he whispers. “I need you to be okay.”

Jensen groans deep in his throat, but doesn’t wake up. Jared wonders if maybe he’s in pain, if the worry lines on his face are anything to go by. He gnaws nervously on his bottom lip until the door bell rings and announces Doc Beaver’s arrival. 

“Jared,” the older man greets. “What’s so urgent?”

Jared rocks back and forth on his heels. “It’s Jensen, Doc. I don’t know what’s going on, but he’s burning up?”

Doc Beaver frowns. “Could be a cold, y’know?”

Jared sucks his bottom lip between his teeth and shakes his head slowly. “I don’t think so.”

“Well, why don’t you show me the way, boy?” Doc Beaver asks, watching Jared intently. 

As soon as they’re in Jensen’s room, Doc Beaver tells him to open the windows and let out the stale air. Jared does as he’s told while Doc Beaver leans over Jensen and starts examining him. Nervously Jared kneads his palms, waiting for the doctor to say something. 

It takes a while of Doc Beaver checking pulse and temperature and the obvious bite marks, before he says, “Holy Mary and Joseph.”

“What is it?” Jared asks concerned at the stunned look on the doctor’s face. 

“I have to look something up before I can be sure. You got a computer around here?” 

Jared nods. “Yeah, but…”

“Jared, just show me where the computer is and I’ll tell you everything I know once I’ve checked the facts,” Doc Beaver says and doesn’t leave any room for argument. 

His laptop is in his room and Jared goes to get it. When he gets back he finds Doc Beaver looking baffled at Jensen, muttering under his breath and continuously shaking his head. He wonders what it’s all about. 

“Here.”

The doctor takes the laptop and gives Jared a short smile, before tapping furiously on the keyboard. It feels like an eternity before Doc Beaver sets the laptop aside again and looks at Jared with an unreadable look on his face. 

“I assume those are your bite marks on Jensen’s neck, right?”

Jared nods, feeling proud when he doesn’t blush. “Yeah. So?”

Doc Beaver lets out a deep breath, pointing to the side of the bed. “Maybe you should sit down.” Jared frowns, but sits on the bed, looking at Doc Beaver cautiously, waiting for him to continue, “Jared, what do you remember about history class?”

“What?” he asks confused. 

“More exactly, what do you remember about our mating history?”

Jared pinches the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. “I don’t know what you’re getting at.”

“Jared, everything points to the fact that Jensen’s changing.”

Jensen; changing? Jared shakes his head confused. “What? Changing into what?”

“Into a werewolf.”

Jared’s eyes grow wide and he shakes his head furiously. “No, that’s not possible. Werewolves can only change humans if they’re mates and werewolves haven’t mated with humans in hundreds of years.”

“563 years to be exact. That’s when the last known changing took place.”

“But how?” 

Jared looks at Jensen over his shoulder. His friend is covered in sweat from the fever raging through his body, his shoulders are tense and he’s curled into a little ball as if he’s in pain. This can’t be true, he can’t be the reason for Jensen experiencing this. 

“I don’t know, Jared. All I know is that Jensen’s changing, all the evidence points to it.”

“I…,” Jared shakes his head, running his fingers through his hair. “It was just… sex.”

Doc Beaver looks at Jared for a long time, before he asks, “Was it? For me, it looks a lot like a mating.”

Jared feels his stomach turn upside down. He didn’t want this to happen, not like this at least. Of course he thought about claiming Jensen, if only the circumstance where different. But this? No, he didn’t want it to happen like this, without Jensen’s consent. 

“Oh god. This is… I didn’t…”

“Hey, calm down.” A warm hand rubs soothing circles into his back. “You didn’t know that this could happen. Nobody did. We’ve never had a case like this.”

“But I did this to him,” Jared argues. “I turned him, against his consent. If I’d kept my dick in my pants, it never would’ve happened.”

Doc Beaver shakes his head slowly. “No, it probably wouldn’t, but then again there’s a reason why you did it and didn’t walk away.”

Jared remembers the urge surging through his body when Jensen had asked him to knot him. He also remembers the calm he was feeling when he woke. Was this his body telling him that he and Jensen were mates?

“Besides, this could be a good thing,” Doc Beaver adds and Jared looks at him incredulously. “Well, I can see that you really care about Jensen. So, now you’re mated to him. It’s not so bad, is it?”

The alpha part of him wants to squeal at the fact that he really is mated to Jensen, that Jensen’s his now and only his. The rational human part, however, knows that it’d be too easy. Because he knows Jensen; knows that Jensen doesn’t do relationships – never. 

“Jensen won’t take this well,” he says, without looking at Doc Beaver. “How much time before he wakes up?”

Doc Beaver sighs. “Son, you’re his mate now, you have to take care of him whether he likes it or not.”

Jared snorts. “You don’t know Jensen. He can be a stubborn son of a bitch.” Letting out a deep breath, he asks again, “How long before he wakes up?”

“I don’t know. The chronicles are not very specific. Could be a few hours or a couple of days, for all I know. But he’ll wake up, no worries there.”

Running his hands through his hair, Jared nods. “Okay. I’ll just wait here for the shit to hit the fan.”

Doc Beaver laughs. “You really are an optimist, ain’t ya? Maybe it won’t be so bad, huh? Of course Jensen will have to adjust to being a werewolf, but it’s not like his life’s ending.”

Jared gives the doctor a tight smile. “Who knows, right? Listen, Doc, would you be able to keep this under wraps, for a while, at least? I really wanna talk to Jensen first before this hits the pack and the media.”

“You heard of patient confidentiality, right?” Doc Beaver grins at Jared, but when he doesn’t grin back, he adds, “I won’t say a word. This is between you and Jensen. Just call me once he wakes up, so I can give him a once over, just to make sure everything’s in working order.”

“I will. Thanks Doc. Really.”

He holds out his hand and Doc Beaver shakes it. “Don’t worry, son. I’m sure everything will work out just fine.”

Jared really wishes he could believe the doctor. 

  


In between rubbing Jensen’s body down with a cold washcloth to keep the fever at bay, Jared calls Jeff Morgan, his supervisor at the hospital and tells him that he needs to take a few days off because of a family emergency. It’s not really a lie, not completely at least. Jensen’s his family now, not that he wasn’t before. 

He also sends Chad a text that he has to take care of some things and that he’ll call when he’s ready. He’s just glad that Chad’s at work, otherwise he’d have to deal with a very pissed off phone call right about now. 

The last call is to his mom. It’s the hardest one. 

“Hi mom,” he says, when she answers.

She seems to know right away that something’s wrong. “What is it, JT? Are you okay?”

Jared huffs out a laugh and shoots a look over to where Jensen’s lying on his bed in a fever delirium. “Right now? I’m not sure.”

“Jared, sweetheart, talk to me,” she says, concern audible in her voice. 

“I…” He considers lying, considers just telling her not to worry, but he knows that’s not why he’s called her. “I’ve mated, mom.”

There’s a small pause and then his mom replies, “That’s a good thing, right?”

“To Jensen, Mom. I’ve mated to Jensen.”

“But that’s… How’s that possible?” his mom stutters. 

“I don’t know, but I turned him. He’s changing, mom.” He almost stumbles over the words when he says them. “We didn’t know that could happen.”

His mom sighs. “JT, honey, nobody did. There hasn’t been a changing in over 500 years. How is he?”

“He’s got a fever right now, but Doc Beaver said he’ll be okay.”

“That’s good,” she says. “Listen, you take care of him now. This’ll be a shock. But it’ll be okay, I promise. Jensen’s a good guy.”

Jared wishes he could believe his mom. “Yeah, he is.”

“You want me to tell the Alpha?”

Closing his eyes, Jared rubs a hand over his face. He can just imagine what the Alpha will say, ‘This is a disaster’. For once Jared wishes his dad could just be his dad and not the alpha of his pack as well; it would make things easier. 

“I’ll tell him myself, when Jensen and I have worked it out.”

“Okay. Just don’t take too long,” she pleads softly. 

Of course, lying to his dad, to her alpha, will make the next few days very difficult for her. But Jared knows that she won’t tell his dad without Jared’s permission and he loves his mom even more for that. 

“I’ll try to be quick.”

“Honey, we love you and we love Jensen. This is a good thing.”

Jared smiles sadly. He can’t believe that his mom can still see something good in all this mess. “I wish I could believe you, Mom.”

They say goodbye shortly after and Jared gets himself something to drink before taking his place next to Jensen’s bed. Now all he can do is wait; wait for Jensen to wake up.

  


It’s dark outside when he blinks open his eyes. Shit, he must have fallen asleep again. 

Jensen’s still lying in his bed, but the worry lines on his face are gone and when Jared presses his palm against his forehead it’s warm, but not feverish anymore. Jared lets out a relieved breath. Doc Beaver was right, Jensen’s going to be alright. 

He takes a look at the bite marks he left the night before and is surprised to find they’ve healed. There are little scars where he dug his teeth into the skin, but they look old and healed rather than a fresh wound. He runs his thumb over the scars and shivers slightly at the want that shoots through him. 

This is his mark, his claim on Jensen and every werewolf will know, will smell Jared on Jensen, and will know that Jensen’s taken. 

He didn’t know that having a mate would feel like this, making him dizzy with the want to restate his claim on his mate. Taking a step back from the bed, he takes a deep breath, trying to ignore their combined scent hanging in the air. 

During all the stress after waking up, he never realized it, but Jensen smells of him and the alpha inside of him roars in victory. 

Sitting down again he puts his head in his hands. He’d be lying if he’d said that the thought of Jensen being his beta didn’t make his heart beat a little faster. 

“Jay?”

Jensen’s voice is soft and he sounds tired. Taking a deep breath, Jared lifts his head and gives Jensen what he hopes is a reassuring smile. 

“Hey, sleepyhead.”

Jensen groans, stretching his limbs, and yawns. “What are you doing sitting next to my bed, dude?”

Jared huffs out a humorless laugh. “Of course that’s the thing you pick up on first.”

“Jared?” Jensen pushes up onto his elbows. “You freaking out? Is it because of what we did?”

“Yes.” Jared thinks it’s best to be honest from the get go. “This changes everything.”

Jensen waves it away, swinging his legs out of the bed and grabbing his boxers. “It was just sex, Jay.” He sways a little on his feet when he stands up and Jared’s steadies him with an arm on his bare back. 

It’s like this is the move that sets everything into motion. Jensen jerks his head up at him. 

“What…?” he stutters. “This is… something’s not right.”

Jared pulls his hand back quickly and shakes his head. “No, you’re right. Something’s not right.”

“What the fuck, Jared? Why can I smell you? And I don’t mean your friggin’ aftershave, I mean you,” Jensen says angrily.

“Calm down, Jen. I’ll explain everything, okay? Just take a seat.”

Jensen shakes his head. “What the hell is going on? Why can I hear Marcy in 1D listening to Britney Spears?”

“When we had sex last night,” Jared starts, hoping desperately Jensen won’t freak out completely. “Something happened. I bit you and I turned you. Please, Jen, you gotta understand I didn’t know this would happen. I’m sorry, but everything’ll be okay, okay? We’ll figure it out.” He’s desperately trying to make Jensen understand, but his friend – his mate – is only looking at him with a blank expression on his face. 

“You turned me into what?” he asks incredulously. 

Jared looks at the ceiling, praying for… something. “Into a werewolf, Jen. I turned you into a werewolf.”

“That’s insane.” Jensen shakes his head. “Werewolves can’t turn humans, every kid knows that.”

Jared swallows hard. “They could. Back in the Dark Ages werewolves would find their mates in humans. So, werewolves were able to turn their mates to keep the pack growing. It hasn’t happened in over 500 years, though. I don’t know why it’s happened now.”

“This is crazy, Jared!” Jensen exclaims, running a hand through his hair. “I’ve had sex with werewolves before, they didn’t turn me. Why now?”

“Because we’re mates,” Jared says quietly, just waiting for Jensen to explode. 

“We’re what?” Jensen asks loudly. “We’re mates? I don’t believe in that crap, Jared, and you know it. That’s just not how real life works, Jay.”

“It is when you’re a werewolf,” Jared shouts back. “We mate, it’s what we do and you better get used to it, because we already mated last night.”

Jensen’s eyes are spiting fire, when he says, “Now, what? I’m your beta and I have to roll over whenever you want me to, Jared?”

Jared recoils a little at the bitterness in Jensen’s voice. “What?! No, of course not!”

“Y’know what, Jared? Fuck you. I don’t even care anymore.” Jensen pulls on his jeans and a t-shirt, before walking to the front door. He grabs his wallet and keys, after pulling on his shoes. “I’m outta here.”

“Where the hell are you going, Jen?” Jared asks desperately, grabbing Jensen’s arm, but letting go again when he sees the look Jensen’s shoots him – pure fire. “Please Jen, stay. We have to talk about this. Just please. We can work this out.”

“You did this to me, Jared,” Jensen says angrily. “You turned me, against my will I might add. There’s nothing to talk about anymore.”

The front door slamming shut makes Jared jump. Well, that went well. He puts his fist through the wall of the sideboard standing next to him to work off some anger and hurt. When that doesn’t work, he grabs his keys and leaves too. 

He needs to get the hell out of here. 


	3. The Breath You Take 3/?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a world where werewolves and humans live next to each other but haven’t mated in over five-hundred years, Jensen and Jared met, hit it off and became fast friends. Jared, the son of Seattle pack’s alpha, is already very much in love with Jensen – even though he knows there’s no chance for their happily-ever-after – when a night of drunken sex changes everything both of them believed to be true.

  


The air is cold and it’s raining lightly. Jensen doesn’t feel it. His body feels hot, his skin too tight. He doesn’t know how to deal with this. Jared fucked him and it was the best sex Jensen’s ever had in his life. He remembers feeling like he was floating; boneless and completely sated. 

The moment he woke up and saw Jared sitting next to his bed, he felt so fucking happy; until he realized this would never work. He doesn’t do relationships, hasn’t for a long time and Jared’s looking for his mate, for the one person to spend his life with. 

Now everything’s fucked up. 

Jensen doesn’t feel at home inside his own body and there’s this craving in his chest. He craves Jared’s touch, Jared’s presence to calm him. It’s stupid and pathetic and he needs to do something to get Jared out of his mind right the fuck now. 

He can’t be anyone’s boyfriend, let alone anyone’s mate. He’s not made for being a part of one whole. It would never work.

For a fraction of a second he thinks about going to Kane’s but he’s not sure he’s ready to face his friends yet. That’s why, instead of having a beer or five at his friends’ place, he makes his way to the one club he knows will give him what he wants right now: a reason to forget about Jared. 

The inside of the club is dark, only illuminated by white lighting flashes. The dance floor is full of sweaty guys grinding against each other and Jensen makes his way down the metal stairs. He knows he’ll find exactly what he wants here. 

He gets himself something to drink and watches the events on the dance floor with curious eyes, scanning over the half naked bodies and searching for the one he’s looking for. Finally, his eyes land on a guy that looks nothing like Jared. He’s blond and skinny, smaller than Jensen too. Perfect. 

Making his way through the crowd, he walks up behind the guy and settles his hands on his hips. He looks up at Jensen, takes in his appearance and grins appreciatively. 

“Nice,” he purrs and Jensen grins. 

Half an hour later Jensen finds himself pressed into the cold wall of a bathroom stall, while the guy fingers him open. He’s hard and he needs some release, so he urges the guy on to just fuck him. The fingers are pulled out of his ass and replaced by a cock. It’s nowhere near Jared’s size and Jensen feels empty, even though the guy is pounding into him. 

He feels anger starting to burn in his belly, when he realizes that this is not enough; that this will never be enough again, not after what he experienced last night. The guy comes after a couple more thrusts and pulls out quickly; completely oblivious to the fact that Jensen hasn’t come. 

Pushing away from the guy, Jensen buttons his pants again and rushes out of the stall. He feels nauseous. This is so completely fucked up that Jensen doesn’t know what to think. He’s rock-hard in his pants, but he ignores it. His mind is still full of the craving after Jared and he curses himself for being so damn stupid. 

Over the next hours, the anger in Jensen’s belly grows more and more and when he finally makes his way home he’s furious. The sun is slowly rising above the horizon when he pushes the door to Jared and his apartment open. It’s empty and Jensen feels a sting in his heart at the realization that Jared’s not here. 

Just another reason why anger burns hot in his veins. 

He makes himself some coffee and sits down on the couch waiting for Jared to come back. He’ll tell him exactly what he thinks of this whole fucked up mess. 

  


Two hours later, the door to their apartment is pushed open to reveal a sour looking Jared. Jensen gets up from the couch and raises his eyebrows, crossing his arms over his chest. He’s pissed and Jared should know that. 

Before he can say anything, though, Jared speaks, “Did you have fun?” His voice is cold as ice and Jensen notices that he can barely hold himself back. “Yeah, I can smell him all over you, Jen. I hope you enjoyed it, because that is the last time anyone other than me fucks you. Got it?”

Jensen doesn’t know if it’s because he’s a beta werewolf now or something else entirely, but a part of him wants to beg for forgiveness and tell Jared that it won’t happen again. But he suppresses his submissive part and goes into fight mood. 

“Fuck you, Jared. You got no right. I don’t belong to you.”

“Yeah, you do,” Jared hisses, taking a step towards Jensen and pressing him against the wall, his arms above his head. 

Struggling, Jensen soon realizes that Jared’s so much stronger than he, but he’ll be damned if he stops fighting. 

“I’ll show you exactly who you belong to, Jensen,” Jared growls, pushing his legs between Jensen’s and raising an eyebrow when his thigh connects with Jensen’s hard-on. “This for me?”

Jensen fights the blush and turns his head away. “Stop it, Jay,” he says, trying to squirm out of Jared’s hold again. 

Jared shakes his head and his eyes glare at Jensen. “No. First you tell me if the guy was worth it. Did he fuck you hard and long? Made you come so hard, you think you blacked out? How did his cock feel inside you, better than mine? Did he make you scream?”

Jensen finally snaps, yelling, “No, okay?! He didn’t. Because you fucked with my head so completely. I didn’t even come, because it wasn’t enough. He wasn’t enough. You happy now?”

They lock eyes for a second and then their mouths meet in a hungry kiss, teeth clashing against each other and Jensen bucks his hips, rubbing against Jared, because it feels so damn good and he needs release right the fuck now. 

“Wanna kill him for touching you,” Jared growls. “I’m gonna fuck you now, gonna fuck him right outta your mind.”

“Stop talking and do it,” Jensen says. 

A second later he finds himself bent over the back of the couch and Jared’s ripping his pants away. 

“Suck,” he orders, pushing his fingers into Jensen’s mouth. “Make them nice and wet.”

Jensen sucks on the digits, making them slick with spit and twirling his tongue around them like it is Jared’s cock in his mouth. 

“Yeah, that’s it, Jen,” Jared whispers dangerously. “Slick them up, because it’s the only prep you’ll get tonight.”

Jensen groans, pushing his hips back into Jared’s crotch and feeling his hard cock riding his cleft. He knows it’s only a layer of fabric keeping Jared from pushing right into Jensen’s body. 

When Jared’s fingers are dripping with spit, he pulls them out of Jensen’s mouth; trailing them down his crack and pushing them into Jensen’s hole in one go. Jensen throws his head back, panting hard. It hurts, but it also feels so good. He can feel his release building in his toes. If only Jared would get his cock inside of him. 

“You want it, Jen, don’t ya?” Jared growls, nipping at Jensen’s earlobe. “Want my cock inside of you, want me to knot you.” Jensen can only nod and Jared grabs his jaw, turning his head back. “Tell me, Jen. Tell me how much you need my cock inside of you.”

Jensen moans, feeling Jared nipping at the base of his neck, licking over the marks he left there the last time. 

“So much, Jay. Need you to fuck me hard.”

Jared chuckles darkly, pulling his fingers out of Jensen’s body, leaving him empty and wet. Jensen has only a second to moan for the loss of Jared’s fingers, before Jared pushes inside of him in one long, hard thrust, hitting right against his sweet spot. 

Jensen’s fingers curl into the cushions looking for some leverage, screaming Jared’s name when he bottoms out. He’s full, so full and if feels so fucking good. The whole night he’s felt completely off-balance, but now with Jared pounding into him he feels the calm coming back to him. It’s a weird feeling to know that Jared can do that to him; one that scares Jensen shitless. But right now, he only wants Jared to make him come; he can worry about everything later. 

“Fuck, Jay– I need to come,” he yells. 

“I want you to come– Just. From. This.” Jared growls and every word is accentuated with a deep thrust. 

As soon as Jared’s knot starts to pull him apart, Jensen throws his head back, baring his neck to Jared and giving him access to lick, suck and bite. When Jared’s teeth pierce his skin, Jensen comes. His head is swimming with pleasure and his vision blurs. He feels Jared rocking into him and when the first spurt of Jared’s come hits his prostate, Jensen is ripped apart by another wave of pleasure. 

He comes down from his high, realizing that Jared’s somehow manhandled them so that they’re lying on the couch, Jensen’s back against Jared’s chest. Jared’s still rocking into him with shallow thrusts. Soft kisses are pressed to his neck and clever fingers rub his own come into his skin. 

“Hmm,” Jared purrs. “So good, Jen. So damn good. Never knew it could be like this.”

Jensen turns his head back and opens his mouth easily, when Jared leans forward and kisses him softly. They lazily kiss and Jensen lets himself enjoy the feel of Jared all around him. When Jared’s hand wraps around his soft cock, his hips jerk and Jensen moans. 

“This was just round one, Jen,” Jared chuckles. “You should get used to me fucking you for hours.” Jensen tenses and Jared smoothes his hands over his sides and down to his hips. “It’s okay, Jen. We’ll figure it out. Don’t think about it right now, just relax.”

Jensen wants to protest, but then Jared’s thumb rubs over the head of his cock, and he loses the ability to speak coherent sentences. He’s lost in pleasure again, feeling torn between pushing his cock into Jared’s hand and rocking back on Jared’s cock. 

“Hmm, Jen. Gonna make you come again.” 

Jared rocks his hips, his knot pushing right into Jensen’s sweet spot and Jensen digs his fingers into Jared’s hips. It doesn’t take long for Jensen to lose it again. 

  


Jensen wakes, feeling sated and sore in all the right places. He’s still lying on the couch and there’s a blanket draped over him. Sitting up, he sees Jared with his head buried in the fridge. 

“Jay?” he asks and Jared spins around, knocking his head against the frame of the fridge in the process. Jensen grins when Jared curses. “You want me to kiss it better?”

Jared rubs his head and pouts. “Just mock my pain.” Jensen snorts and Jared smiles shyly at him. “You okay? I mean, I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

Jensen shakes his head. “No. But I’m not sure I’m okay, either.”

Jared sighs and drops onto the couch next to Jensen. “We’ll figure it out, Jen. I promise.”

Jensen wants to believe Jared, he really does, but after the clusterfuck that was his last relationship, he’s not sure they’ll be able to figure it out. 

“I’m just not sure I’m relationship material,” he says softly. “I guess I’m the worst person to be mated to.”

Jared gives him a soft smile. “You do realize that we practically were in a relationship before, right? I mean, it only lacked the sex.”

Jensen lets out a deep breath. “It’s not the same.”

“Jen,” Jared cups his jaw and tilts his head up, “you’re my best friend. There’s no one I’d rather be mated to.”

“God.” Jensen lets his head fall back against the back of the couch. “How did this happen, Jay?”

Jared chuckles. “I guess we were always meant to be. We just didn’t realize it.”

“I’m so fucked in the head right now, I can’t even remember what day it is,” Jensen says. “My only thought is ‘More please, more’.”

Laughing, Jared leans over him. “It’s Saturday, late afternoon, I called the hospital yesterday morning and told them that we wouldn’t be in for a few days, so I see no reason why there shouldn’t be more.”

Their lips meet in a soft kiss and Jensen puts his arms around Jared’s neck pulling him close. It’s time for round three or is it round four already?

  


“I’m starving,” Jared says and, as if his stomach wants to agree, it rumbles. 

Jensen chuckles. “You’re always hungry. But I wouldn’t mind a double cheeseburger from Freddie’s either.”

Freddie’s is their favorite fast food restaurant and the good thing is they deliver. 

“I’ll call them,” Jared says, climbing out of bed. 

They landed there after they’d fucked on the couch and Jensen turns on his stomach, watching Jared walk into the living room. He’s completely naked and Jensen feels his cock harden again. Damn it, they’ve fucked five or six times already and Jensen still can’t get enough. If that’s what this mate thing is, it’s not so bad. 

Jared comes back in and Jensen’s mouth waters at the sight of his flaccid cock hanging between his legs. 

Jared groans. “We really have to find a way for you to control your pheromones.”

Jensen blushes. “I don’t even realize I’m doing it.”

Crawling into bed, Jared hovers over Jensen. “You’ve got time to figure it out, Jen. Nobody expects you to just know what to do. None of us knew this would happen.”

“I don’t know what to do. I mean, what’s going to happen now?”

“Doc Beaver wants to see you,” Jared explains. “He was the one who figured out what happened. Then I guess we have to tell our friends and families.”

Jensen groans. “Yeah. God, I don’t even know how to do that.”

“We do it together,” Jared says, kissing Jensen softly. “We’re in this together, Jen. I know it’s scary, but being a werewolf isn’t so bad.”

Closing his eyes, Jensen just tries to concentrate on Jared’s hand stroking his chest gently. This he could get used to. The attention his transformation will bring, however, is something he dreads. 

“What about changing into– y’know my wolf form, or whatever you call it?” Jensen asks, not sure he’s ready to hear the answer. 

“We’ll ask Doc Beaver about it. But it’ll be okay.”

“I wish I could be as calm about everything as you are,” Jensen says opening his eyes and looking into Jared’s green-hazel ones. 

“Someone has to keep you from freaking out again,” Jared says softly. “I promise you, this is a good thing.”

Jensen sighs. “How do you know?”

“Because I’ve wanted this for two years now,” Jared grins. “You can’t believe how often I wanted to just bend you over that fucking couch.”

“Well, I guess we can tick that one off the list.”

There’s a knock on the apartment door and Jared scrambles off the bed, pulling on sweatpants that hang low on his hips and the Seahawks’ t-shirt Jensen bought him last year. He winks at Jensen, when he goes to pay the delivery guy and get their dinner. For a second Jensen basks in the feeling of Jared being his mate, before all his insecurities creep up on him again. 

How long will Jared do this before he realizes that Jensen’s not worth being his mate? There’s a reason Jensen never fantasized about Jared that way. 

“Hmm, Jen. It smells awesome,” Jared says, pulling Jensen out of his thoughts when he drops onto the bed and puts a food container in Jensen’s lap. 

They devour their dinner and when a drop of ketchup lands on Jensen’s naked chest, Jared leans down and licks it off, leaving Jensen squirming beneath him. Jared laughs playfully, before pushing the empty food containers off the bed, and kissing Jensen breathless. 

Jensen wishes they could stay here in this room forever. 


	4. The Breath You Take 4/?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a world where werewolves and humans live next to each other but haven’t mated in over five-hundred years, Jensen and Jared met, hit it off and became fast friends. Jared, the son of Seattle pack’s alpha, is already very much in love with Jensen – even though he knows there’s no chance for their happily-ever-after – when a night of drunken sex changes everything both of them believed to be true.

  


The sun breaks through the heavy rain clouds that’s dominated the sky for the last two days, making the remaining raindrops glisten in the light.

Jared takes it as a good sign as he makes his way up the stairs leading to the entrance door of their apartment building. When he left Jensen alone in their apartment half an hour ago to go and get them breakfast, his mate was deeply asleep and Jared had felt the urge to just curl up next to him and push the real world away for another day. 

It’s already Monday morning, though, and it’s time for them to surface again. His mom would have had enough difficulties explaining his and Jensen’s absence at their traditional Sunday lunch, and Chad won’t stay quiet for much longer, either. Jared’s afraid that if he doesn’t call his best friend soon he’ll turn up at the apartment unannounced and Jared’s not sure Jensen’s ready for that. 

The apartment is dead silent when he unlocks the door and for a split second he thinks that Jensen’s left again – this time probably for good. A look into Jensen’s bedroom calms him again. Jensen’s still asleep; lying on his stomach, his forearms pushed beneath his pillow and the blanket hanging low on his hips, giving Jared a good look of the curve of Jensen’s ass.

A soft smile forms on Jared’s face at the sight of his mate. He’s gorgeous and he’s Jared’s to worship and love. Putting down their breakfast and the two coffees he bought, Jared makes his way into Jensen’s bedroom. He crawls into bed and starts peppering Jensen’s back with soft kisses. Jensen smells like soft summer rain and Jared basks in the scent for a few seconds, before making his way up Jensen’s back with soft kisses. 

Jensen lets out a soft moan, the first sign of him waking up, when Jared licks across the faint scars his mating bite left on the spot where shoulder and neck meet. 

“Good morning,” Jared whispers into his ear and feels Jensen shiver beneath him. Slowly Jensen blinks open his eyes and Jared smiles when deep green eyes meet his. “Hey.”

For a second the corners of Jensen’s mouth twitch like they want to form a smile, but then Jensen’s guard slams down again after being absent for two days. Jared sighs, rolling away and giving Jensen some space. He should have known better than to assume that this weekend of amazing sex would have taken care of all the unspoken issues between them.

“So,” Jensen breathes, sitting up and running a hand through his short hair. “This is it, huh? Time to face the world again?”

“Jen-” Jared lets out a deep breath, reaching out and running his hand over Jensen’s naked back. “It’ll be okay. We’re in this together and we’ll figure it out.”

“You keep saying that, Jared. I just- I wish I could believe you.”

Jensen climbs out of bed, pulling on some sweatpants he has lying around and Jared rolls off the bed, rushing to Jensen’s side. He grabs his mate’s arm and turns him around. 

“Don’t do this, Jen. Don’t pull away from me. I know it won’t be easy, okay? But we’re in this together. Y’know why?” Jensen looks down at his feet and Jared tips his head up with his forefinger beneath his chin. “Because we’ve mated. A relationship might not mean as much in the human world, but in mine it means we belong together. We’re two halves of one whole.”

Jensen sighs. “This is- I don’t know how to deal with this.”

“We’re good together, Jen. We’ve always been. This is just another step,” Jared explains, desperate for Jensen to accept that they’re together now. “Why is it so bad to be mated to me?”

“It’s not you.” Jensen shakes his head and walks out of the bedroom. 

Jared follows him. “Then what is it?”

“It’s me,” Jensen says forcefully. “I’m not made to be anyone’s mate, okay. All the compromises and the expectations? They turn my stomach upside down.”

“Who says there have to be compromises and expectations?” Jared asks, giving Jensen a small smile. 

Jensen huffs out a humorless laugh. “Yeah, right. There always are, Jared. That’s what a relationship is about. It twists you up inside and makes you do things you wouldn’t do otherwise just to make your ‘boyfriend’, ‘mate’, ‘whatever’ happy.”

Jared’s heart breaks at the bitterness in Jensen’s voice and he promises himself that he’ll find out whoever put those thoughts in Jensen’s head and kick that person’s ass. 

“I promised myself I’d never do that again,” Jensen adds.

Jared reaches out and pulls Jensen towards him. Jensen comes reluctantly and Jared cups his head between his hands, forcing Jensen to look at him. 

“Let me promise you something, Jen,” he says quietly. “I will never, ever expect you to change who you are. I love the person you are. He’s the one I fell in love with.” Jared’s not sure if it’s too soon to say it, but he thinks that honesty may be the best bet here. 

Jensen’s eyes grow wide and he tries to pull away, but Jared takes a hand away from Jensen’s face and curls it around his hip, keeping him in place. 

“I won’t let you run from this, Jen. I don’t know what happened to make you think like that, but I’ll show you that being mated doesn’t mean losing yourself.”

“I don’t know if I can do this, Jay.” 

Jensen’s voice is soft and it shakes a little, breaking Jared’s heart some more. Jensen’s thirty years old, but right now Jared has the feeling that he’s a scared little child and all he wants to do is wrap Jensen up in his arms and keep him safe from whoever or whatever hurt him this bad. 

“We’ll do it together.”

Leaning down, Jared captures Jensen’s lips in a soft kiss and after a second he feels Jensen relaxing. He wraps his arms around Jensen’s body and feels him melt into the embrace, breaking the kiss and laying his head on Jared’s shoulder. They stay like this for a long time, just touching and breathing in sync. It feels good and Jared hopes that they’ve made a step in the right direction. 

  


Jensen’s heart is beating a mile a minute and he feels like throwing up when Jared stops the car in front of the brick building housing the practice of Doc Beaver. 

“It’s gonna be fine, Jen.”

Jensen almost barks out a bitter laugh, but the hopeful look on Jared’s face keeps it from coming out. Jared, who has been Jensen’s best friend for two years and who has – if Jensen’s honest with himself – been the center of Jensen’s world for that whole time. He promised himself to never let anyone get this close again. But somehow Jared worked his way through all of Jensen’s defenses, leaving him open and raw and craving Jared’s touch and presence. 

It scares the shit out of Jensen that he’s once more in a situation where his heart could be trashed in the fraction of a second. Now, Jared’s talking of love and being two halves of one whole. But what about tomorrow, what about the moment Jared’ll realize that Jensen’s the worst mate he could have asked for? 

“Jen?” 

He looks up and sees Jared smiling softly at him. “I’m ready. Let’s get this over with.”

Doc Beaver is a middle aged man with a full beard and sympathetic eyes. Jensen instantly likes him and it makes all the poking and prodding so much easier to endure. Jared’s in the same room with them the whole time and his presence helps Jensen to stay calm. 

“Well Jensen, everything seems to be in working order,” Doc Beaver says and grins. “Mighty fine werewolf I’d say. I’ve checked the chronicles and they say that some things are still subject to change and we’ll have to wait for your first changing cycle to be complete to see if your body’s adjusted completely to the change. But right now I’d say everything looks really well.”

Jensen swallows hard. First changing cycle. He still can’t wrap his head around the fact that he’ll change into a wolf sometime soon. 

“So he can’t change at his own will?” Jared asks. 

Doc Beaver shakes his head. “No, the chronicles say that it takes some time to change at will. The first few times it’ll happen when it’s full moon.”

“When’s the next full moon?” Jensen asks, kneading his palm nervously with his thumb. 

“Weekend after next,” Doc Beaver says and Jensen wants to laugh hysterically. Of course his first changing would take place the weekend his parents are holding their dinner party. 

“I can’t,” Jensen says and shakes his head. “I’ll be down in Dallas. I can’t change.” 

“Jen, you don’t have a choice,” Jared says, looking confused. 

Jensen huffs out a breath. “You don’t get it, Jared. My parents are holding a dinner party for my dad’s 60th birthday. I can’t change then.”

“Son,” Doc Beaver says softly, “you will change, you can’t fight it.”

“Then give me something,” Jensen says. “I don’t care what it is, just give me something so I won’t change. I can change the full moon after this one.”

Doc Beaver and Jared exchange a concerned look. “There’s nothing to stop this, Jen,” Jared says. “It’ll happen. We can just talk to your parents. They’ll understand.”

Jensen laughs sharply. “You don’t know my parents, Jay. They’ll never understand.”

“They’re your parents, Jen. They love you,” Jared says and he actually sounds like he believes that. 

“No,” Jensen shakes his head. “My parents are nothing like yours, Jared. They will never accept a werewolf as their son, let alone a beta.”

“Well then, just tell your mom that you’re sick or something.”

“My mom doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. I have to attend this fucking party, Jared.” He shakes his head. “This is really awesome, Jay. If you’re really in this with me then you better come up with a fucking way for me to fly down to that party.”

Jensen curtly nods at Doc Beaver and rushes out of the practice. He needs some space to breathe. Knowing exactly how his parents will react when they find out that he’s the first person to be changed into a werewolf in over five-hundred years, he sees the disgust on his mother’s face and the disappointment on his father’s, when he closes his eyes against the bright sun. 

“Jensen?”

He spins around and sees Jared standing a few feet behind him. “This is such a fucking mess, Jay.”

“It’ll be okay. We’ll fly to Dallas together and figure it out as we go.” Jared sounds desperate. “I won’t leave you to deal with this alone.”

“My parents will be thrilled,” Jensen says, sarcasm dripping from his voice. He sighs. “Let’s just go home.” Jared chews on his bottom lip nervously and Jensen frowns. “What?”

“I thought we might go by my father’s office and get this over with,” he says sheepishly. 

Jensen presses the heel of his hands against his temples. He can feel a headache coming. “Awesome,” he mumbles. “Let’s go then.”

  


They drive the few miles to Jared’s dad’s office in silence and Jared feels it hanging above them like heavy dark clouds. He throws Jensen quick glances from time to time, but his mate isn’t looking, he’s just staring out of the window with his arms crossed over his chest. Jared lets out a long breath and asks himself how a day could go downhill so quickly. This morning he thought they were on the right track, now he’s not so sure anymore. 

He wants to touch Jensen; wants to feel the soft skin beneath his fingertips, but he’s sure that Jensen wouldn’t like that right now. So, he keeps his hands on the steering wheel and his eyes trained on the road in front of him. 

Ten minutes later, Jared parks the car in the underground parking lot of his dad’s office building and then they’re making their way up to the 57th floor in the elevator. He’s fidgeting, not knowing where to put his hands and Jensen surprises the hell out of him when he takes one of Jared’s hands in his. He doesn’t look at Jared, instead just stares at the elevator doors, but Jared feels some of the weight on his heart lift and he squeezes Jensen’s hand. 

Linda, his father’s assistant, gives Jared a surprised smile when she sees them coming down the hallway. 

“Jared, I didn’t know you were coming over.”

“Hi Linda. It was pretty spontaneous decision. Is he in?”

She nods and just waves them through. “Just go in. He’ll be happy to see you.” She glances curiously at Jensen, but doesn’t ask and Jared’s grateful for that. He’d hate to lie to her. 

Knocking on the door, he hears his father call ‘Come in’ and after taking a deep breath, he steps inside, pulling Jensen with him. 

The smile that spreads on his father’s face when he sees Jared and Jensen, falls away when his eyes fall on their entwined hands and fades into a concerned look. 

“Son?” he asks in the lieu of a greeting and Jared swallows the lump in his throat. 

“Alpha, I’m here to tell you that I’ve mated.” He puts his hand on the low of Jensen’s back and says, “This is Jensen, my mate.”

Gerry’s eyes grow wide and he shakes his head. “Jared- JT, we talked about this.”

“Well, things have changed,” Jared says slowly. “Jensen has changed. He’s a werewolf now. I turned him into a werewolf.”

“That’s ridiculous, Jared,” his father says. “Werewolves haven’t changed humans in over five-hundred years.”

“I know. But Doc Beaver confirmed it and- just smell him, Dad. He’s a werewolf now.” Jared’s desperate now, desperate for his father to understand and accept this. 

Gerry sighs, but he takes a whiff of Jensen’s scent. Jensen tenses, but doesn’t say anything. He just stands next to Jared, strong and steady. 

“This is- this is not possible. How is this possible?” Gerry mutters. 

“We don’t know, but it happened. We didn’t expect it either, believe me. We were as shocked as you are right now.”

“This changes everything.” Gerry shakes his head. “I have to talk to the Council. We have to make an official announcement, maybe even a press conference. If this gets out before we’re able to explain everything, it’ll cause a panic.”

Jared sighs, feeling a trembling Jensen next to him. “Dad, could you just please leave the politics aside for just a sec? You’re scaring my mate.”

Gerry’s head shoots up and he meets Jared’s eyes, then he looks at Jensen and a smile appears on his face. 

“I’m sorry, Jensen. I really didn’t want to scare you.” He walks over to where Jensen’s standing next to Jared and pulls him into a hug, causing Jensen to let out a surprised squeak. “Welcome to the pack and to the family, son. I’m sure I’ll speak for Jared’s mom as well when I say we’re thrilled to have you as our son’s mate.”

“Thank you,” Jensen stutters and Jared can’t keep the broad grin off his face. 

Even though this might cause some complications with the pack and the humans, Jared knows that his dad, the pack alpha, has their back. 

“Congrats, son.” His dad pulls him into a quick hug as well and Jared leans into it, lets the strength of his dad calm him. 

“Thanks, Alpha.”

“How about you’ll come to dinner tonight and we’ll tell the good news to your mom?” Jared grins sheepishly and Gerry rolls his eyes. “Of course, she already knows. You’ve always been a mama’s boy. But I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you two anyway.”

Jared nods. “Yeah, but how about you two come to our place? We could have our friends over as well and tell them all at the same time. What do you think, Jen?”

Jensen looks anything but thrilled, but he nods. “Yeah, sure. Get it over with in one go.”

Gerry smiles softly at the missing enthusiasm in Jensen’s voice and claps Jensen’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay, son. I’m sure the others will be happy for the two of you too.”

  


The door falls closed behind Jensen and he leans against it, letting Jared carry their grocery bags into the kitchen. He’s exhausted and there’s a hammer in his head knocking insistently against his skull. All he wants to do is curl up in bed and hide there for the rest of his life. It’s stupid and he’s acting like a petulant child, but anything’s better than facing up to the fact that his life’s just been turned upside down. 

“Hey.” 

A soft voice pulls him out of his own head and he opens his eyes to see Jared standing in front of him. There’s a soft smile displayed on Jared’s face and his eyes are full of something Jensen thinks might be love. His heart and body ache for Jared’s touch and he reaches out, hooking a finger into a belt loop and pulling Jared towards him. 

Their crotches meet and Jensen lets out a small breath. “Hi.” It scares him how much he wants and needs Jared to touch him, make him Jared’s. 

Jared leans his forehead against Jensen’s and they’re so close that Jensen can feel Jared’s breath on his lips. 

“Can’t believe you’re my mate, Jen. You don’t know how long I’ve been dreaming about this,” Jared whispers. Jensen shudders at the sincerity in Jared’s voice. “You’re mine now, Jen. Mine to love and cherish and worship. I’ll love you so good, if you’d just let me.”

Jensen closes his eyes. A part of him wants everything Jared’s offering, wants to be Jared’s mate; wants to spend the rest of their lives together. A different part of him, however, tells him that this is too good to be true, that Jared will soon see that Jensen’s not worth being his mate.

Jared’s still close when Jensen opens his eyes and a shiver runs down Jensen’s spine at the intensity in Jared’s hazel-green eyes. 

“I want to,” he says quietly, knowing that Jared wouldn’t have been able to hear him if he weren’t standing so close. “And that scares the shit outta me.”

“I know.” Jared nods. “Just believe me when I tell you that I’ll never hurt you.”

Taking a deep breath, Jensen says, “I’ll try.”

Jared smiles. “That’s all I’m asking for.” He presses a soft kiss to Jensen’s lips. “How about we get everything ready for tonight and then I’ll give you a nice long massage before our guests get here?”

Jensen moans at the thought of Jared massaging his back. “That sounds awesome.”

  


“Jensen you need to relax or the headache will come back.”

Jensen turns around from where he’s pacing in front of the living room windows. Jared’s looking at him with an amused look on his face. 

“I wish it’d be over already,” Jensen admits, nervously chewing on his bottom lip. 

“Jen,” Jared says softly, walking over to Jensen and cupping his head between his hands. Jared’s hands are warm and soft and Jensen leans into the touch. “It’s gonna be okay. They’ll be happy for us.”

Jensen nods slowly. He thinks that Jared might be right about Sophia, Steve, Tom and Mike. Chris and Chad however are a different story. They’re both overly protective of their respective best friends and if Chris hears that Jensen didn’t agree to this beforehand, Jensen’s not sure what Chris’ll do. Jared might be able to take care of himself, but the last thing Jensen wants is his mate and his best friend at odds. 

A knock on the door pulls them apart and Jared presses a quick kiss to Jensen’s forehead before going to open the door. 

“Hey,” he greets their first visitors. 

“Out of the way, Jared. I need to go to the bathroom,” Sophia says and pushes past Jared, shooting a grin at Jensen, before she vanishes into the bathroom. 

“I swear to god,” Chad grumbles, “if she goes to the bathroom more often, she could put up a camping bed in there.”

Jensen relaxes a little at Chad’s easy attitude. “Hey Chad.”

Chad waves and looks back at Jared. “So, you two going to tell me where you’ve vanished to over the last few days?”

Just like that the tension in Jensen’s shoulders is back and he looks at Jared for help. 

“We’ll tell you soon enough, dude. That’s why we’re all here. We’re just waiting for Tom, Mike, Chris, Steve and my parents.”

Chad frowns. “Are you sick? Or is Jensen sick? Man, that really doesn’t sound good.”

“What doesn’t sound good?” Sophia asks, walking up to Jensen and pulling him into a hug. “Where’ve you and Jared vanished to over the last few days, Jen?”

“They won’t tell us, Soph. We’ll have to wait for the rest of the gang to get here,” Chad says, sounding annoyed.

Sophia looks at Jensen for a long second and it’s like Jensen sees the moment she gets it. “Oh my god,” she exclaims. “How?” She turns to Jared. “Jared how?”

“What the hell are you talking about, Sophia?” Chad asks. 

“Smell, Chad,” she says and Jensen closes his eyes, turning his head away. He hates that every werewolf is able to smell that Jared turned him. 

Chad does and his eyes grow wide. “What the fuck? Dude,” he turns to Jared, “he smells like you.”

Jared sighs and Jensen feels his cheeks flush. He avoids everybody’s gaze by looking at the floor.

“Can we just wait for everyone else to get here?” Jared asks. “We’d rather tell everyone at once.”

For the remaining time Chad looks confused back and forth between Jared and Jensen, making Jensen feel as if he’s on display. It makes him itchy and he moves closer to Jared, hoping that it’ll help the uneasiness he feels. Jared gives him a small smile and Jensen feels a little of the tension drain away. 

Sophia is watching them with an amazed smile on her face and when she realizes that Jensen caught her watching them, she shoots him a broad smile and a slight nod, as if she just gave them her blessing. He never doubted that Sophia would be happy for them. 

When finally Chris, Steve, Tom, Mike and Jared’s parents get to the apartment, Jensen’s a fidgety mess, aching for Jared’s touch to calm him. Three days, they’ve been mated for three days and Jensen already relies on Jared’s touch to keep him calm and sane. This can only end badly. 

Chris is watching Jensen with a concerned look on his face and Jensen just wants to flee. That’s when Jared walks over to Jensen, taking his hand and entwining their fingers. Instantly he feels the tension drain out of his body; he’d love the effect Jared has on him, if it didn’t scare the shit out of him. 

For the last five years, Jensen’s been responsible for himself and if you ask him, Jensen’s sure he did a good job. Of course he had issues, but he’d dealt with them over the time. His life was good. Now, he already relies on Jared’s presence and he’s not sure how he’d cope if Jared decided to walk away anytime soon. 

“Jensen and I have something to tell you,” Jared says and Jensen wants to scream. 

He doesn’t want to tell them anything, he’d rather keep this under wraps. Jared squeezes his hand and he takes a deep breath. 

“Jared and I mated,” he says and is completely surprised that his voice is strong and steady. He doesn’t feel strong and steady right now. 

“Oh my-,” Sophia squeals. “That’s so awesome. I knew it.” She gets up from the couch and rushes over to Jensen. “I’m so happy for you.” She wraps him up in a tight hug, peppering his cheeks with kisses. “I don’t know how it’s possible and I don’t even care. This is amazing.”

Jensen can’t help but smile at her enthusiasm. “Thanks, Soph.”

“There’s more,” Jared says. “During the mating Jensen was turned into a werewolf.”

“What?!” 

Jensen’s not sure who said it first, because everyone’s talking at the same time. 

Chris’ voice is the first that is audible above the chaos. “He turned you?” he asks loudly, his booming voice cutting right through Jensen. “Did you tell him to do that?”

Jensen sighs, because he knew this would happen. “No, I didn’t. We didn’t know this would happen, okay?”

“So, what? He fucked you and then you just turned into a werewolf?” Chris glares at Jared. 

“More or less,” Jensen says. 

“More or less?” Chris asks incredulously. “Tell me, Jensen. Doesn’t this freak you out? He turned you into a werewolf.”

“Of course it does, Chris,” Jensen shoots back. “And you’re not helping. Besides, Jared didn’t know this would happen.”

“Can we please stay calm?” Sherry asks. “None of us knew this could happen. Werewolves haven’t mated with and changed humans in over five-hundred years.”

Chris huffs. “Doesn’t make it right, though.”

“Step down from your high horse, Chris,” Chad says, crossing his arms over his chest. “Jensen obviously agreed to the sex, so he’s at least half-responsible for this. Jared would never have done it if he’d known that something like that could happen.”

“Enough!” Jared shouts. “Will you stop it? Damn, guys. We can look for who’s to blame now or we can start dealing with this. Just because Jensen’s a werewolf now doesn’t mean it changes who he is.”

“You still did it against his will,” Chris insists. 

“Damn it, Chris. He didn’t know,” Jensen says.

“C’mon, Chris. Calm down,” Steve says, curling his fingers around his friend’s biceps. “They didn’t know and you can’t tell me you’ve never had sex with someone you shouldn’t.”

Jensen shoots Steve a grateful smile and Steve nods at him. “You’re okay with Jared being your mate?”

Jensen looks quickly at Jared, before turning back to Steve. “Yeah,” he nods. “I’m okay with it.”

“Then, congrats, bro.”

Steve’s acceptance seem to be what they needed, because after that Tom and Mike congratulate them and even Chris and Chad grumble their apologies and congratulate them. Sherry pulls Jensen into a tight hug. 

“Welcome to the family, Jensen. I couldn’t be happier about my son’s mate.” She pulls him away from his friends a little and asks. “How are you doing? I assume this is rather confusing.”

Jensen lets out a deep breath. “It’s okay. I’m fine.”

“Don’t bullshit me, Jensen Ackles. You’re my son’s mate now,” Sherry says and Jensen looks at her baffled. “I wanna know how you’re really feeling.”

Jensen considers it for a second and then says, “I’m really fucking scared. Not just changing into a wolf, but Jared, he’s such an amazing person, and I’m- just me.”

Sherry smiles softly. “You’re pretty amazing yourself, Jensen. Jared can be proud to have a mate like you.”

Jensen forces a smile. “If you say so.”

She presses a soft kiss to his cheek. “I do, Jensen. I do.”

  


Jared sees his mom pull Jensen out of the circle of their friends into a quiet corner of their living room. He tries to get eye contact with Jensen, but he’s solely focused on Sherry. He seems calm, though. 

“Dude, you know this will cause some uproar, right?” 

He forces himself to look away from Jensen and turns to Chad. “What do you mean?” 

Chad sighs. “You might have turned Jensen into a werewolf now, but that doesn’t mean the pack will accept a half-breed as pack beta.”

“Chad,” Jared sighs. 

“You know how some of the pack members talk about humans,” Chad interrupts him, before he can say anything. “They won’t accept him, until he proves himself.”

“Well, you don’t need to worry, then,” Jared says defiantly. “Jensen will prove himself. He’s a great guy and he’s my mate, so maybe you should think about what you’re saying first.”

“I just don’t want anyone giving you a hard time over this,” Chad says. “I know you love him and I see that he cares for you too. But this’ll cause problems, Jay.” He sighs and squeezes Jared’s shoulder. “Just know that I’ll have your’s and Jensen’s back. Congrats, bro.”

Jared relaxes a little. “Thanks, Chad. And about those troublemakers, just send them my way. I’ll put them in their places.”

Fingers curl around his biceps and he turns to the person pulling him away from Chad. Chris’ look is pure fire and Jared prepares for the best-friend-speech.

“Chris, look-”

Chris pulls him into the kitchen. “I swear if you hurt him, I’ll kill you. I don’t care if you’re some Alpha werewolf or some other shit. But if Jensen gets hurt in any way by you, I’ll find a way to kill you.”

Jared sighs. “I won’t hurt him, Chris. I love him. I loved him before this happened.”

Chris stares at him. “I really hope you’re speaking the truth.”

“Chris, I know that mating doesn’t mean anything to humans, but it does to werewolves. We only mate once in our life and stay together our whole life. So, you might not believe me right now, but Jensen’s it for me. He’s my soul mate, Chris. My other half.”

Chris wrinkles his forehead in a frown. “You really believe this shit, don’t you?” He sounds baffled. 

Jared grins. “I really do.”

  


Later that night, Jared climbs into bed, pulling Jensen against his chest. “Didn’t go so bad, did it?” 

Jensen sighs. “I guess not.”

“But?”

“No but, just that they all seem to be dealing with this better than I am.”

Jared tilts up Jensen’s head and presses a kiss to his lips. “I think you’re dealing pretty well. You didn’t run.”

Jensen lets out a deep breath. “Still scares the hell outta me.”


	5. The Breath You Take 5/?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a world where werewolves and humans live next to each other but haven’t mated in over five-hundred years, Jensen and Jared met, hit it off and became fast friends. Jared, the son of Seattle pack’s alpha, is already very much in love with Jensen – even though he knows there’s no chance for their happily-ever-after – when a night of drunken sex changes everything both of them believed to be true.

  


“Damn it Jay, will you calm down?” 

Jared’s head shoots up from where he’s been picking at his lunch, glaring at Chad. “It’s easy for you to say, Chad. Jensen’s spending the day with the Alpha, so of course I’m nervous.”

“He’s your dad. You really think he’d scare Jensen away?”

Jared sighs. Yeah, that’s part of the reason he’s so anxious. He’s scared that his father will say something that’ll make Jensen run for the hills. He really can’t stand the thought of his mate being alone with the Alpha, but his father made it clear that Jared was not allowed to accompany Jensen to the meeting. Besides, he had to get back to work. Jeff Morgan had already called him, asking when he would be back. 

Now, he’s a nervous wreck, checking his cell phone and beeper every two seconds. He told Jensen to call him if he needed anything and Jensen had promised to do so. But so far, nothing. Jared’s not sure if he should be relieved or terrified. 

“So, when are they making it official?” Chad asks, taking a bite from his burger. 

Jared shrugs. “Not sure yet. I guess Jensen wants to talk to his parents first, though.”

Chad nods. “Might be a good idea. I can’t imagine reading about it in the newspaper would go over so well.”

No, it probably wouldn’t. But Jared remembers how Jensen reacted at Doc Beaver’s office two days ago. There’s something Jensen’s not telling him and Jared has a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that there are things he doesn’t know about Jensen. 

“Jay, how are you dealing with this, man?” Chad’s voice is soft and full of concern and Jared’s not really used to this side of his best friend. 

“I’m fine.”

Chad snorts. “Yeah sure. Try again.”

“What do you want me to say, Chad?” Jared asks, exasperated. 

“First of all, I want you to be honest with me and with yourself.” Chad sighs. “You’ve been in love with Jensen for awhile now. Must be hard to realize that everything’s still not happy, happy, joy, joy.”

Jared shakes his head. “We’re dealing.”

“Bullshit, Jay. You’re going through the motions. Remember I’m an Alpha too.”

“I really don’t know what you want from me, Chad.” Jared lets out a deep breath. “Of course the Alpha inside me is roaring in victory. Do I wish I could shout it from the rooftops that I’m mated to the man I’ve been in love with for almost two years? Yes, I do. But-”

“No but,” Chad interrupts him. “We’re Alphas. We like to show our conquests, especially if we’re mated to them. I know that right now Jensen’s dealing with a lot and you’re trying to be supportive and shit, but don’t forget that you have wants and needs too, Jay.”

“What about Jensen being turned into a werewolf didn’t you understand, Chad? Of course his needs come first. His whole life’s turned upside down and I’m responsible for that.”

“And that’s where you’re wrong, Jay. You’re only half responsible. Jensen is just as responsible for this happening as you are.” Jared wants to argue, but Chad continues without letting him get a word in, “He needs to realize that he begged for you to knot him and that this is not only affecting him, it’s affecting you too, Jay. A mating in our world is a celebration, not something to get a headache over. And you might be Jensen’s Alpha now, but he’s your Beta and he should start fucking acting like one.”

“Shut up, Chad. You don’t know what’s going on in Jensen’s head right now. We’ve never been through something like this, so don’t act like it’s something he can just get over. His whole life’s changing.”

“No, but I know what’s going on inside your head, Jay. And it’s not healthy to suppress your urges just to spare your mate.”

Jared pushes his tray away and quickly stands up. “Didn’t you just tell me you’d have my back? Well, then fucking act like it, Chad.”

“You’re miserable, Jay. I can see it, so you don’t have to deny it. You’re mated and yet you’re miserable. That’s just not something I can live with. I want you to be happy, Jay. You deserve to be happy and Jensen should fucking man up and realize that sometime soon or I’m gonna kick his ass into gear.”

Jared growls, getting right in Chad’s face. “You fucking touch him, I’ll fucking kill you.”

“Guys!”

They both spin around, seeing Jeff Morgan, their attending, standing a few feet away and glaring at them. “I think you’ve entertained the cafeteria enough. Let’s get back to work.”

Jared looks around, realizing that all eyes are on him and Chad and it’s dead silent in the room. Damn it. He and Chad just broadcasted hospital wide that Jensen had been turned into a werewolf and is now mated to Jared. 

Fuck!

He has to call his dad for damage control. Chad looks at Jared sheepishly and Jared sighs. “Let’s just get back to work, Chad. I’ll have to call the Alpha first, though.”

  


Jensen’s sitting in one of the conference rooms at Gerry’s office, waiting for the man to come and meet him. He had called Jensen yesterday requesting the meeting to discuss the next course of action, which would also involve alerting the media. Jensen had been a little surprised when Gerry had asked him to come alone and had even straight out forbidden Jared to come along, when Jared wanted to argue.

It makes him a little nervous about what is to come.

The door to the conference room opens and Gerry walks in with a grim look on his face. When he sees Jensen, though, his face lights up a little and he gives Jensen a reassuring smile. 

“Hello, Jensen. Thanks for coming.”

“Hi- uhm, I don’t- I’m not sure what I’m doing here.”

Gerry chuckles a little. “It’s understandable. But you don’t have to be afraid. I asked you here today to make it official that you’re part of the pack now and to discuss some other things. I promise it’s nothing bad, though.”

Jensen nods. “Okay.”

“So, first of all I want to welcome you to the pack. I don’t have to tell you that I’m the Alpha of the Seattle pack, right?”

“No,” Jensen shakes his head. “Of course I know.”

“Good, that means I’m your pack Alpha now and you’re under my protection.” He pushes a piece of paper towards Jensen. “You’ll just have to sign this and it’s official. Every werewolf has to be registered to a pack and this form states that you’re registered to mine.”

Jensen’s hand shakes a little when he signs his name on the dotted line. This is the first step in changing his whole life. 

“What does that mean? I mean, there is a certain protocol to follow, right?”

Gerry nods. “Yes, there is. It mostly means that you’ll address me as Alpha and that you’ll respect my word and laws. I’m responsible for my pack’s wellbeing and I tend to take this very seriously.”

“Yes… Alpha.” It’s hard to get the word over his tongue; he’ll definitely need some time to get used to address Gerry that way. Especially since he doesn’t really see Gerry as his leader. To him, Gerry’s the guy he watched football games with on Sundays, not the leader of the pack. 

Being part of the pack, that’s another thing Jensen can’t wrap his head around. He’s not even sure what exactly all that means for him and his life. 

Gerry smiles. “It’ll get easier, son. Now tell me how you’re doing, Jensen.”

Jensen shrugs. “Not sure what to say. It’s really confusing. My senses have changed and I can hear my neighbors two floors down having sex or listening to weird music. It’s very unsettling.”

Gerry’s booming laugh echoes through the conference room. “I guess that can be pretty unsettling.” He turns serious again. “But what I meant, is that you’re not experiencing any pain or headaches or anything else that makes you feel ill?”

Jensen shakes his head. “No, and Doc Beaver’s already checked everything. He says my body adjusted well.”

Gerry nods. “That’s good to hear. Now, on to a more serious matter. Jensen, you changing into a werewolf will cause some uproar in both the human and the werewolf world. This changes everything we believed in for the last five-hundred-years. We have to make an official statement and there’ll be a lot of questions we won’t be able to answer. Already there have been some problems. Sadly, they were caused by two people we know very well. Jared and Chad had a very vocal fight regarding your mating in the hospital cafeteria. So, it’s no secret anymore that you were changed into a werewolf. It’s only a matter of time before it hits the news.”

Jensen’s head is reeling with the news and he feels like he needs to puke. If this gets out then it’s only a matter of time before his parents will find out about it. What the hell was Jared thinking; outing him in the cafeteria?

“It’ll be okay, Jensen,” Gerry says softly. “I’m sure you’re concerned about your parents finding out from someone else other than you. So I called your father’s office just before I got here and we were able to set up a videoconference with him.”

Jensen’s eyes grow wide. “What?! You did what? Are you crazy?”

“Jensen,” Gerry bellows. “That is really no way to talk to your pack Alpha.”

“I couldn’t give a shit. You had no right to do this. You can’t just tell me this and expect me to be okay with it.” 

He jumps up from his chair and is about half way to the door, when Gerry steps in his way. “Sit down! Now! I know you’re new to our customs, but you will show me respect, Beta.” 

A part of Jensen wants to fight; wants to push Gerry, but a bigger part of Jensen knows that he’ll have no way of winning this fight and his anger just deflates. He walks back to his chair, sitting down and staring at the table in front of him. 

“Jensen, I’m sorry if you feel a little blindsided here. I just thought it was for the best to inform your parents right away. Don’t you think this is better than them finding out about it through the news?”

Jensen shrugs. “Doesn’t matter really.”

“Jensen-,”

“It’s okay, Alpha,” he says. “Can we just get it over with?”

Gerry looks at him carefully for awhile and then nods. “Sure. You want me to tell your father or would you rather do it yourself?”

“I’ll do it,” Jensen says. 

Gerry goes to turn on the TV and activate the videoconference. The whole time Jensen feels empty and hollow. He already knows how his dad will react. A part of him wishes that Jared was here, but then he remembers that Jared’s the reason why they have to rush through this. How could he have done this?

When his father’s serious face appears on the screen, Jensen feels like he’s transported back in time and about to tell his father that he’s going to college to study physical therapy, instead of business and economics like his parents wanted him to. He’ll never forget the disappointment in his father’s eyes, when he told him that he’d never take his place in the family business. 

“Jensen, what’s going on here?” His father asks sternly now. “What’s so important to pull me out of a meeting closing a multi-billion-dollar deal?”

Gerry stands next to Jensen now, his hand is on his shoulder and it’s strangely comforting. “Something happened, Dad.”

“Are you sick?” his dad asks matter-of-factly and Gerry squeezes Jensen’s shoulder harder. 

“No,” Jensen says. “A few days ago … I was turned into a werewolf.”

Alan looks at him for a second and then shakes his head. “That’s ridiculous, son. Werewolves can’t change humans.”

“Mr. Ackles, let me introduce myself,” Gerry says all of a sudden. “I’m Gerald Padalecki, Alpha of the Seattle pack and I can assure you that Jensen’s not lying. We were all shocked to hear the news. But it’s true, Jensen’s been turned into a werewolf. He’s also my middle son’s mate.”

Alan doesn’t even acknowledge Gerry, his eyes fixated on Jensen. “If this is true, son, you know it’ll break your mother’s heart. I’ve always known that you don’t have the real Ackles’ genes, but your mother always hoped for you to gain some sense and return to us.”

“Dad,” Jensen says calmly, not letting it show how much his father’s words get to him. “This will hit the news pretty soon. I just wanted you to hear it from me, instead of from some reporter.”

“Y’know, Jensen? I was so disappointed when you told me that you’d rather work in some anonymous hospital than in your family’s company. But that was nothing compared to the disappointment I’m feeling right now. I’ve never thought you’d go and let yourself get turned into a bitch. Or did you turn into an Alpha werewolf? But I don’t think so, you don’t have it in your bones.”

Gerry gasps next to Jensen and Jensen wishes the floor would just open up and swallow him whole. “Mr. Ackles-,”

“This is all I have to say about this and please don’t think you’ll be welcome here any longer.”

The connection cuts off and Jensen lets out a long breath he doesn’t remember holding. 

“Jensen, you okay?” He nods without really hearing Gerry. “I never would have made you tell your father if I’d have known how he’d react. I’m so sorry, Jensen.”

“Don’t be,” Jensen says, shaking his head. “I’m fine.”

All of a sudden, Jensen finds himself face to face with Gerry, who’s sitting in a chair next to Jensen now instead of standing. “Listen to me, son. I know we can never make up for losing your real family, but just know that we love you, Jensen. We loved you when you were human and we love you now. Jared couldn’t have mated with someone better.”

Jensen nods. “Thank you, Alpha.” Even to him it sounds hollow. “I think I’d like go now. Just make the official statement. I’m okay with whatever.”

“Jensen-,”

“I’m fine. Really.” He gets up. “I’ll see you later, Alpha.”

Before Gerry can say any more, Jensen’s out of the door and at the elevator. He just steps out of it when his cell phone rings. Looking at the display, he frowns and flips it open. 

“Eric?”

“Hey Jensen.”

“What’s going on? Do I have to come in?”

There’s an awkward pause and then Eric asks, “Is it true? Were you turned into a werewolf?”

Jensen groans. Great, the news is making its way around already. “Yes, Eric it’s true. But trust me this won’t affect my work. I’ll be back in tomorrow.”

“That’s kinda the point why I’m calling, Jensen. You know werewolves have this extra training to go through when they want to be PTs?”

“Yes,” Jensen says hesitantly. 

“Well, I can’t let you treat any of our patients until you’ve completed this training too. You can, of course, do your research, Jensen. But I can’t let you have contact with any of our patients, not before you have that certificate.”

“What?! You’re kidding me, Eric. I have my doctorate in physical therapy. I’ve been working with you for four years.”

“I’m sorry, Jensen. You can return to the research team anytime, but for now I can’t let you practice.”

Jensen closes his eyes, pushing down the urge to just jump through Eric’s phone and twist his neck. He flips his phone shut without another word. He really needs to get out of here so he can finally be able to breathe again.

  


Jared unlocks the door to their apartment in a hurry. His dad called an hour earlier saying that Jared needed to go home at once and take care of Jensen. 

The thing is, their apartment is empty and Jensen’s cell is turned off. 

With a sigh, Jared falls to the couch. He always thought that when he’d find his mated, they would have a huge party celebrating their love. It looks as if fate has a different idea for him. He may be mated to the man he loves, but Chad is right, he’s not happy. 

His cell phone buzzes and he answers it without looking at the display. “Yeah?”

“I don’t care what you did, but you’re going to fix it right the fuck now, Jared.” Chris’ angry voice echoes through the phone and Jared’s off the couch in a second. 

“Is he with you?” 

“Of course he’s with me, asshole. Where do you think he’d be? I don’t know what you or your father did, but I haven’t seen him like this in long time. So get your fucking ass over here and fix it.”

“You at home or at the bar?”

“I’m home. Steve’s at the bar alone and that really doesn’t help lighten my mood. So will you come here or do I have to come and get you?”

“I’m on my way, Chris. Just keep him there.”

Twenty minutes later, Jared’s running upstairs to Chris and Steve’s apartment, knocking on the door loudly as soon as he gets there. 

Chris opens the door and glares at him. “He’s in the living room.”

Jensen spins around as soon as Jared steps inside the room and he knows that his mate is able to recognize his scent. 

“Jen? How mad are you?”

Jensen huffs out a laugh. “Mad? Why would I be mad, Jared? Maybe because Kripke just called me, telling me that I can’t work as a physical therapist any longer, at least not until I’ve completed the additional training that werewolves need to do?” Jared’s heart sinks. “Or maybe because my father just disowned me, telling me what a disappointment I am turning into a bitch for some Alpha werewolf? Tell me Jared, why should I be mad at you?”

“Jen, I’m sorry. Me and Chad never should have talked about this in the cafeteria. I’m so sorry about that.”

“Of course you’re sorry, Jared. You’re always sorry, Jay.” He crosses his arms in front of his chest. “I’m so sick and tired of just rolling over and taking it. I’m not your punching bag.”

“I know, Jen. I’d never-,”

“Shut up, Jared. Shut the fuck up. You did this to me. You changed me. My life is ruined because we fucked.”

Jared feels anger starting to pool in his belly. “Well, that’s rich, Jensen. Who begged me to knot him, huh? That was you, Jen. You begged me to fuck you hard.”

“You should have said no, Jared,” Jensen shoots back. 

“No,” Jared shakes his head. “I don’t regret that this happened… because I love you, Jen. I love you and if you’d just open your eyes you’d realize that you love me too. Does this mean it’ll be easy? No, it won’t. But we don’t have to go through this alone.” 

He takes a step towards Jensen and takes it as a win when Jensen doesn’t back away. “I will tell you something else, you might be a Beta but you don’t have to roll over for anyone. Not for me, not for anyone else. You just have to realize that you’re worth something, Jen. Kripke says you don’t get to work as a PT? So what? Then take that stupid training werewolves have to do and prove him wrong or fuck him and only do your research. Your dad disowns you? He doesn’t deserve to call you his son if he doesn’t realize what an amazing person you are.” 

Jensen’s looking at him with wide eyes, but Jared’s not finished yet. “Just stop wallowing in your own self pity and start standing up for yourself, Jen. You’re amazing, loving and loyal and funny and talented. I fell in love with you for a reason, Jensen. And I know it scares you and you think there’ll come a day when I wake up and don’t want to be mated to you anymore. But that’s not true. I’ve never wanted to be mated to anybody else. It was always you, Jen. Because we’re meant to be.”

“My life’s a mess, Jay. I’m a mess,” Jensen says quietly and Jared takes the last step towards him, wrapping his arms tightly around his mate’s body. 

“You’re my mess, Jen. I love you and nothing will ever change that.” 


	6. The Breath You Take 6/?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a world where werewolves and humans live next to each other but haven’t mated in over five-hundred years, Jensen and Jared met, hit it off and became fast friends. Jared, the son of Seattle pack’s alpha, is already very much in love with Jensen – even though he knows there’s no chance for their happily-ever-after – when a night of drunken sex changes everything both of them believed to be true.

  


The alarm clock beeps and Jensen buries deeper into his pillow. He doesn’t want to get up; doesn’t want to face the world. He wants to stay here, safely encased in Jared’s freakishly long arms and the fantasy that comes along with it. 

Last night, Jared had taken him home after his little breakdown and another failed escape. He had wrapped Jensen up in his arms, just murmuring how much he loved Jensen and that he’d never stop – and Jensen wants to believe him, he really does. It’s just hard because he’s heard all this before. 

He hates that Ian invades his mind more often than not since this thing with Jared happened. He hates that Ian still has some kind of power over him, even though he’s over him. He’s been over him for a long time – just not over what happened back then. It still burns in the back of his mind – the hurt, the betrayal, the useless and worthless feeling. 

“Jen, stop it.” Jared’s voice is soft, his breath ghosting over Jensen’s neck. “I can feel you freaking out. Just for once believe me when I tell you that everything’ll be okay.”

Jensen sighs, rolling onto his back. Jared’s right there, his hazel-green eyes staring at him with a fondness that makes Jensen’s heart ache.

“I’m not freaking out,” he says slowly. “Not yet anyway. I might when we go out there in an hour, though.”

A small smile forms on Jared’s face. “You want me to make you forget about it for a while?” he asks, winking. 

Jensen rolls his eyes. “Jay-,” 

He doesn’t get out his counter argument before Jared’s lips are covering his. Jared’s lips are soft and warm and when Jared runs his tongue over Jensen’s lips he opens up easily, letting Jared in. 

This is the easy part of the change. 

It’s everything else that freaks Jensen out. It’s the way Jared looks at him and tells him that he loves him. It’s the way Jensen can feel Jared inside him, the craving for Jared’s touch, for Jared’s presence, for Jared’s love. What if- ?

Jared pulls away a little and shakes his head. “I wish you could just believe me, y’know.” He sits up and swings his legs off the bed.

Huh? Did Jensen say any of that out loud? 

“Jared-,”

“I can feel your distress, Jen,” Jared says. “We’re soul mates. I can feel that you’re afraid.”

Jensen swallows hard. He didn’t know, never even thought about Jared being able to maybe sense some of his distress and insecurities. Is that normal? Can all ‘soul mates’ do it? What does it mean? 

Jared sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “Don’t freak out, okay? It’s not like I can read your mind or anything, just that I can feel that you’re upset. I’d probably know that just by looking at you.”

“Jay, I don’t know what to tell you,” Jensen says quietly, pushing off the bed and pulling on some fresh boxers. 

“I don’t want you to tell me anything. I want you to trust me. Why can’t you believe that I love you; that I wanna be with you?” 

Jared looks at him and Jensen can feel the hurt radiating from him. It hits him like a punch to the gut. He takes a step back and shakes his head. 

“Because-,” he sighs.

“Because what, Jen?”

He looks up and Jared’s right there, only an arm’s length away and Jensen knows that it’d be easy to believe everything Jared’s saying. But there’s this little voice in his head asking ‘What if’. 

“Because I’m not worth it, Jay. You’re perfect; beautiful, generous, funny, loyal. One day you’ll take over your pack from your dad and you’ll be an amazing Alpha, Jared. People love you, Jared. And me? I’m just-” he looks down his body, “this. There’s nothing special about me. When will you realize that I’m not the mate you want?”

“Never.” Jared’s response comes instantly and then Jensen finds himself in a bone crushing hug. “I’ll never realize that, because you’re perfect too, Jen. Perfect for me. I’ve been in love with you since the day I met you and I was angry and upset, because I knew I could never have you. I was restless, searching for something I could never find, until the moment we mated. Now, I finally feel complete. You make me complete, Jen.”

“Jared,” Jensen breathes, feeling a lump building in his throat, because that’s exactly how he’s felt since that night. 

Jared cups Jensen’s face between his hands, forcing him to look at Jared. “We belong together, Jen. I know you can feel it. I just wish you’d believe it too.”

Hazel-green eyes, full of something that Jensen knows deep down is love, stare at him, and he leans into Jared’s touch. He wants to believe, so much. But it’s hard, so hard. 

“Let me show you, Jen. Show you that this is a good thing, that being mates is a good thing. But you’ve gotta trust me a little.”

Jensen nods. He knows and that’s the hardest part, trusting Jared to not hurt him. “Okay. I’ll probably freak out again, but okay. I’ll try.”

He feels Jared relax a bit. “Good. I’ll be here when you freak out again, just to remind you that there’s no reason to.”

Jared leans down, brushing his lips against Jensen’s and for the first time Jensen lets himself believe that they’re in this together.

The ringing of Jared’s cell pulls them apart and Jared grins shyly at him. “Don’t forget where we were, okay?” He reaches for his cell, saying, “If this isn’t an emergency I’m hanging up again.” 

His stupid grin falls off his face the second the person on the other line speaks and Jensen feels his stomach drop. Something’s not right. Jared rushes into the living room with Jensen on his heels, turning on the TV. 

The Seattle Morning News is on and Jensen needs a second to realize what the moderators are talking about. 

_“- So Richard, do you think this can happen to any of us? We’ve lived with the belief that werewolves weren’t able to turn humans. Now it’s happened to someone among us. It’s only reasonable that people want to know if it can happen to them too.”_

The blonde woman is waiting for the man across from her to answer, while Jensen feels his blood run cold. They’re discussing what happened to him on TV. This is not for them to discuss. This is between him and Jared and no one else. 

_“Well Kelly, I’ve talked to my colleagues for Werewolf studies at the Institute of Behavioral Science and right now we have very little information at our disposal. But I can only warn humans not to panic, nothing is verified right now. No one knows what really happened. We have to do more research, before we can say a clear ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to your question.”_

Jared turns off the TV of and Jensen feels nauseous. 

“I’ll call you back, Chad.” 

Jared’s voice seems far away and Jensen can hardly hear it through the buzz in his head. This can’t be happening. 

“Jen. Hey, c’mon, sit down.”

Strong hands push him down to sit and his head is pushed between his legs. “Breathe, in and out. In and out.”

After what feels like an eternity, his vision clears again and the buzz in his head fades to a faint headache. Jared’s kneeling in front of him, his eyes full of concern.

“You with me again?” he asks softly. 

Jensen nods. “Yeah.” He lets out a deep breath. “God, I didn’t think this would cause such an uproar.”

Jared smiles sadly. “It’s my fault that it came out like this. I shouldn’t have fought with Chad in the cafeteria.”

“You probably shouldn’t have,” Jensen agrees. “But it would have come out one way or the other, and it’s not your fault, Jay. None of us knew this could happen.”

“You know that I’m sorry, Jen. Right? Because I am, I’m sorry it happened like this. I’m sorry I turned your life upside down. Even though I’ll never regret it, I still wish it could have happened differently.”

Jared looks tentatively at Jensen and Jensen presses a kiss to Jared’s lips, just because it feels like the right thing to do. “I know,” he whispers when he pulls back and Jared relaxes, his forehead falling against Jensen’s. 

They stay like this until Jensen’s cell starts ringing. He grabs it from the coffee table, frowning when he sees ‘Unknown Caller’ on the display. 

“Yeah?” he answers. 

“I always knew you were an attention whore, JR.”

The voice on the other line is sickly sweet and the blood freezes in Jensen’s veins. “Ian,” he grits out and sees Jared frown. He never told Jared about Ian. There was never a reason to. “What the hell do you want?”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk what language, JR,” Ian says and Jensen can just imagine the smug grin on his face. 

“Just tell me what you want or I’m hanging up.”

“I just wanted to let you know that I’m impressed. Never thought you had it in you. I mean, getting yourself turned into a Beta werewolf, that’s quite an achievement. You were never good for anything else than rolling over and taking it anyway, JR.”

Jensen’s fingers wrap tightly around his cell and he feels the nausea come back. 

“You think your little Alpha still wants you when he realizes that?” Ian laughs wickedly. “You really think that, don’t you? When will you finally realize that you’ll never be good enough, JR?”

The cell is pulled out of his hand and flipped shut with enough force to break it. Jared looks furious and Jensen can’t wrap his head around why. 

“Jay-,” he starts quietly, but is interrupted immediately by Jared. 

“That’s him, right? The guy that hurt you, made you doubt yourself?” he asks and Jensen just shrugs. “Who is he?”

“Just leave it, Jay. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“It doesn’t matter? Look at you. One phone call and you’re a mess. I don’t know what went down, but I know that it messed you up pretty good.”

Jared’s furious and Jensen doesn’t know how to handle that. He’s never seen Jared like this. His Jared is sweet and caring and loves with all his heart.

“I don’t wanna talk about it, okay? Can you just respect my wishes for once, just once?” Jensen spits out and wants to take it back as soon as it’s out. Jared’s been nothing but supportive and Jensen’s the one that’s a total mess and an asshole. 

Jared takes a step back. He’s still only dressed in black boxer briefs and Jensen can see every muscle in his body tensing. He also feels the tension and hurt rolling off Jared in waves. 

“I’m sorry, Jay.” He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “I- I shouldn’t have said that. You’ve been nothing but supportive. But Jay, this is something I have to deal with on my own, okay?”

Jared nods shortly. “I’m going to take a shower and then I have to get to the hospital. I’m sure Jeff’s already waiting for me.”

Jensen curses internally. “Jay-,”

“It’s okay. We’re okay.”

The door to the bathroom closes and Jensen feels the silence in the room like a ton of weight on his shoulders. He has to get out here; needs time to think and breathe. 

After scribbling a note for Jared – because he’s not a complete asshole – he grabs a t-shirt that’s lying around. He only realizes that it’s Jared’s, after pulling it on. It smells of Jared, earthy and a little salty. Jensen closes his eyes for a moment, letting himself believe for just one second. 

As the shower turns off, Jensen pulls the front door to their apartment shut. 

  


Jared hears the front door close and sighs. Grabbing a towel, he steps out of the shower. Of course Jensen would run again. It’s not even been a week and Jared’s already at his wits end. This is supposed to be a good thing, but it’s turning more and more into a nightmare. 

He doesn’t know how he’ll make Jensen believe that he loves him and that Jared wants to be with him for the rest of their lives. 

Jensen doesn’t want to talk to him about what happened in the past, and it breaks Jared’s heart that his mate doesn’t trust him enough. They’re supposed to be in this together, but Jared feels like he’s the only one fighting. 

Walking into the living room, he finds a piece of paper stuck to his bedroom door – the bedroom he hasn’t slept in since the one night that changed everything. 

_“Jay, I’ll be back. Don’t give up on me. Jen”_

He reads it three times before a small smile appears on his face. He can wait; waiting’s never been a problem for him. 

After getting dressed, he makes his way downstairs only to throw the front door shut again, after realizing that the steps leading up to their apartment building are full of journalists and photographers - flashing lights and questions bombarding him.

“Shit,” he breathes. 

“That’s what I thought.”

He spins around and sees Jensen sitting at the other end of the hallway. “I thought you were gone.”

Jensen smiles sheepishly. “Thought so too. Didn’t expect that they’d lay siege to our apartment building.” He grows serious again. “Jared look, I was an asshole and I’m sorry.” 

Jared shakes his head. “You’re allowed to be an asshole. I mean your life is turned upside down. I just wish you’d trust me.”

“I do,” Jensen says quietly and when Jared raises his eyebrows incredulously he adds, “To a certain extent. I just- I haven’t let anyone in for so long. I don’t know how to do that anymore.”

“You could start by telling me who Ian is,” Jared says, sinking to the floor next to Jensen.

Jensen snorts. “You couldn’t have asked for something a little bit easier for the first time?” 

Jared smiles a little. “I’ve never been someone to beat around the bush.”

The shrill ringtone of Jared’s cell cuts through the hallway and he curses his luck because he’s been almost positive that Jensen was about to tell him something. He fumbles his phone out of his pants pocket and answers it. 

“Hello?”

“JT, it’s me. Where are you?”

“Jensen and I are at home, more specifically we’re sitting in the hallway of our apartment building. Dad, it’s crazy out there. Journalists and photographers are camped out in front of the building.”

“I assumed as much. Listen, take Jensen and pack a few bags. I’m on my way. I’ll call when I’m close.”

“But Dad, I have to go to the hospital.”

“Son, just do as I say. I’ll be there in a bit.”

The call is disconnected and Jared stares disbelievingly at the display.

“What?”

He looks up and sees Jensen looking at him concerned. “That was my dad. He wants us to pack a few bags. He’s coming to get us.”

“What’s going on, Jared?”

Jared shakes his head. He really has no fucking clue. 

  


Twenty minutes later, they’re climbing out of their basement window and Jared feels a little like they’re in one of those Hollywood spy movies. 

“Is this really necessary?” Jensen asks and Jared shrugs. 

“Do I look like I know?” Jared asks with raised eyebrows and Jensen huffs. 

They make their way across the back alley behind their apartment building and to the black SUV with tinted windows. 

His dad is sitting in the driver’s seat and next to him sits Mark Pellegrino – member of the Werewolf Council and one of his father’s best friends. They both wear similar grim expressions and Jared wonders what the hell’s happened to make them look like this. 

“Dad?” he asks. 

“Just get in the car, JT. We’ll talk later.”

He looks over his shoulder at Jensen, who looks just as stunned as Jared feels. They drive in silence and only after close to an hour, crossing back and forth through the city, does his dad take the exit that’ll take them to his parents’ house. 

Jensen’s tense next to him and Jared grabs his hand, squeezing tightly. Their eyes meet and Jensen squeezes back, giving Jared a small smile. It makes Jared’s heart beat a little faster. 

After another hour, Jared’s dad turns a corner and drives up the pathway to his childhood home. Something is different though from all the other times he drove this way. There are wolves in the woods and it looks like they’re patrolling. 

What the hell is going on here?

“Alpha,” he starts. 

“JT, please. We’ll tell you everything when we’re inside.”

The car stops and his mom rushes out of the house. She looks really upset and when she throws her arms around his neck to pull him close, he can feel her shaking. 

“Mom?”

“I’m just glad you’re here, JT.” She turns to Jensen, pulling him into just as tight a hug. “Come in, boys. Come in.”

They follow her inside and Jensen shoots him a ‘what the fuck’ look that Jared can only return. His dad and Mark talk to some of the wolves, before following them. That’s what unsettles Jared the most. It feels like these wolves are guarding – protecting – the house. Why would they need protecting?

Sarah is sitting in the living room with Kyle and Laura playing on the floor next to the coffee table. She looks just as upset as Jared’s mom and Jared has the sickening feeling that something horrible has happened. 

“Uncle Jay!” Kyle shouts, scrambling up from the floor and throwing himself at Jared. 

Jared sweeps him up, spinning him around. “Hey buddy. What’re you doing here?”

“Mommy said we’re staying with granny and pop for awhile,” Kyle tells him excited.

“That’s awesome, Kyle.”

He sets him down and sees that Laura is in Jensen’s arms telling him excitedly about the story in her storybook. He smiles at the fond look in Jensen’s eyes. Maybe – just maybe – one day Jensen will agree to them having kids as well. 

“Hey, JT,” Sarah says and he pulls her into his arms. 

“Hey. Where’s Jeff?”

“He’s with the Council back in Seattle,” his father says and now Jared’s sure that something is seriously wrong. Jeff’s never been interested in werewolf politics. Why would he be there now?

“Will you tell us what’s going on, Alpha?”

His dad exchanges a look with Mark. “Sarah, why don’t you take the pups outside? I’m sure they’d be happy to romp around for a bit.”

“Yay!” both pups scream and rush towards the large glass door that leads to the back yard. 

Sarah follows them outside and Jared’s mom pulls Jared and Jensen over to the couch. “C’mon, sit down.”

“Mom, what’s going on?”

“There’s been an attack,” his father finally says. “A young werewolf in New York was attacked last night and beaten severely because a group of young men thought he wanted to change a girl he met in a club.”

“What?!” Jared exclaims, shocked. 

Jensen’s next to him and goes rigid, grabbing his hand and squeezing tightly. “Is he okay?”

“He’s in the hospital and he’s being treated,” Jared’s father says. “The doctors say he’ll be fine. Mitch Pileggi, Alpha of the New York pack, informed us last night after it happened. Until now, we’ve been able to keep it all under wraps and the four men have been arrested. But we can’t be sure that this will be the only attack we’ll be dealing with. That’s why we brought you here and that’s also why we have security guarding the house.”

“But this- I don’t get it.” Jared shakes his head. “This is crazy. Why would anyone attack a werewolf?”

“Because people are scared, JT,” his moms says softly. “They think that now Jensen’s been turned, everyone can be turned against their will.”

“But that’s absurd. This was- what happened between Jensen and me– we’re soul mates. That’s the only way it works,” Jared argues, getting up from where he’s been sitting. 

“People don’t know that, JT,” his father says. “And that’s why I’m holding a press conference in a few hours. I will explain everything and we hope that this’ll calm people down and prevent any more attacks from happening.”

Jared shakes his head. This is crazy. Jensen’s sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. His shoulders are tense and Jared can feel just how upset his mate is. 

“Jen-,” 

“It’s okay,” Jensen says, looking up. “It’s okay. I understand. If that’s what is needed to calm the masses.”

“We’re sorry, Jensen,” Jared’s mom says, sitting down next to Jensen. “You mating with Jared should be something great, something to celebrate. We didn’t think this would cause such uproar.”

“If everything goes the way we hope, you two can stay here until after Jensen’s first changing and then go back to your own apartment. Hopefully in a week or two this’ll be old news,” Mark Pellegrino says.

Jared sighs, rubbing a hand over his face. “Is that why Jeff’s with the Council?”

His dad nods. “He’s working on the press conference.”

“I have to call Chris and Steve. Just so they know where I am,” Jensen says and Jared’s mom nods. 

“Sure thing, sweetheart.”

“I’ll call Chad and Sophia. They can tell Mike and Tom,” Jared adds. “They all need to know to be careful. I also need to talk to Jeff Morgan.”

“I’ve already explained everything to him,” his dad says. “He knows that you won’t be going to the hospital for a week or two.”

Jared nods and watches Jensen leave the room. Just when he hoped that they could finally work on their relationship and prepare for Jensen’s first changing. 


	7. The Breath You Take 7/?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a world where werewolves and humans live next to each other but haven’t mated in over five-hundred years, Jensen and Jared met, hit it off and became fast friends. Jared, the son of Seattle pack’s alpha, is already very much in love with Jensen – even though he knows there’s no chance for their happily-ever-after – when a night of drunken sex changes everything both of them believed to be true.

  


Jensen’s twirling his phone in his hands, thinking about what to tell Chris – Chris, who’s already pissed enough at Jared. 

Even though he’s outside, watching the pups romp around, he can hear the low voices of Jared and his mother in the house. He can’t understand what they’re saying, but Jared sounds distressed and it unsettles Jensen. Until now Jared’s been the strong one, the one to keep it all together. He’s the one to be there when Jensen freaks out. 

What happens when Jared freaks out?

“It’ll be fine, y’know?” Sarah sits down next to Jensen and nudges his shoulder. “The Alpha is a great man; he’ll be able to deal with this.”

Jensen sighs. “I hope so. This is such a mess and all because-,” he stops himself and shrugs. 

Sarah chuckles. “All because you couldn’t keep your dick in your pants. You can say it, Jen. We all know how matings work.” Jensen’s eyes widen in shock and she laughs. “We all did the same once. Besides Jared’s a fine werewolf, if it weren’t for Jeff-,” she waggles her eyebrows and Jensen knows when he’s being teased. 

Rolling his eyes at her, he says, “As if you’d ever give up Jeff. You two are still in the honeymoon phase after being mated for what? Eight years?”

“Almost nine,” Sarah says and there’s this secret smile on her face she always gets when she talks about Jeff. “And besides I didn’t have a lick of chance with Jared. The guy’s been in love with you since you first helped him with his shoulder.” 

Jensen looks down at the dark wood flooring the back deck, counting the grooves in the wood, just so he can avoid looking at Sarah. 

“Y’know, we all knew it.” She chuckles sadly. “You just had to look at the two of you. It was clear as day that you two were just made for each other and it broke all our hearts to know that nothing could ever come of it.” She stays silent for a moment and when she speaks again there’s happiness in her voice. “I guess fate’s been on our side for once.”

There’s a lump in his throat and Jensen clears it, before he says, “I guess.” His voice is shaky and he knows Sarah hears the uncertainty in it. 

“I can’t imagine what you’re going through, Jensen.” She lays a hand on his forearm and squeezes lightly. “But I can tell you that this is a good thing. There’s nothing better in the world than being mated to the one person that’s made for you. It won’t be easy.” She laughs a little and shakes her head fondly, as if she’s remembering something Jensen wasn’t a part of. “But I can tell you it’s so worth it.”

He looks at her, feeling skeptical, but then he remembers how Jeff and Sarah are with each other: loving, caring, completely in-tune and so in love that Jensen secretly envied what they have. 

It’s the same with Chad and Sophia, Tom and Mike, Jared’s parents; all the mated pairs Jensen knows are still so in love and completely committed to each other, no matter how long they’ve been mated for. It doesn’t mean they don’t fight – hell, Chad and Sophia are a prime example; they fight all the time – or that they have an easy life. But they deal with all of it together; never walking away or letting their partner deal with things alone. They’re in this together forever and they can’t all be wrong, can they?

The buzzing of his phone in his hand pulls him out of his thoughts and when he looks up, he sees Sarah looking at him with a knowing look on her face. 

“I’ll leave you to it,” she says, dropping a kiss to his cheek, before making her way to where the pups are running around on the grass. 

He takes a deep breath and flips his phone open, after taking a look at the display. “Chris?”

“Where the hell are you, Jen? I just went by your apartment to check on you and there’s this horde with mics and cameras standing outside. It’s crazy out there.”

Jensen sighs. “I know. I’m sorry I didn’t call before. But Gerry got us out of there in a cloak-and-dagger operation. Hell, we had to climb out of the basement window.”

“What’s going on, Jen?” Chris’ concern comes across loud and clear through the phone. “Are you and Jared alright?”

“Yeah, we’re alright, Chris.” He lets out a deep breath. “But there’s been an attack in New York… a werewolf was attacked by some ignorant people. That’s why Gerry thought it might be better for us to stay here for a week or two.”

“It’s been all over the news,” Chris says, groaning. “They’re saying everyone can be turned involuntarily. People are freaking out, Jen. Is it true? Can everybody just be changed like that?”

“You’re asking me? Hell, I’ve only been turned for a few days.” Jensen sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “But no, I think it only works when you’re soul mates.”

“So you believe what Jared’s telling you? That you’re soul mates or whatever?” Chris asks, sounding incredulous. 

“You don’t?” Jensen shoots back. 

Chris sighs. “Yeah, I do. Because I’ve been watching the two of you dance around each other for two years and even I can see that you two belong together.”

“Jared loves me.”

“Well, he better,” Chris grumbles. “Or I’ll come and kick his ass.” 

A smile forms on Jensen’s face and he shakes his head fondly, even though he knows that Chris can’t see him. “Good luck with that.”

“Better make sure it’s not necessary,” Chris says and Jensen feels his heart tighten. 

“Ian called,” he says and didn’t even know he was going to tell Chris about that little fact. 

“Douchebag. What did he want?”

“Gloat,” Jensen says. “What else?” He licks his lips and continues, “Jared was with me when he called and found out firsthand what a mess I am after talking to my ex.”

“Jenny, Jared’s not Ian.”

“I know,” he says, letting out a deep breath. 

“Do you?” Chris asks softly. “Did you tell him what happened? Why you’re scared shitless to open your heart to anyone?”

“Chris-,” 

“Tell him, Jen. He deserves to know.” When Jensen doesn’t say anything, Chris adds, “Don’t you think it’s time to let your soul mate, lover, best friend – whatever you wanna call him – in?”

“Chris-,”

“You really wanna let Ian control your happiness for any longer?”

“I’m not-,”

“The hell you are. That guy broke your heart, Jen. I was there; I saw it happen. And I get that you’re scared, Jensen. I get it. What Ian did was horrible.” Chris sighs. “But Jared’s not Ian, Jen. He’s not and I think it’s time to give him the chance to prove it to you.”

“I thought you didn’t like Jared right now,” Jensen says, chuckling slightly. 

“I don’t,” Chris grumbles. “But he’s still better than that douchebag. And even I can see that the stupid fucker loves you.”

“You really shouldn’t talk about my mate like that, Chris.”

Chris snorts. “So now he’s your mate, huh?”

Jensen’s silent for a moment and then he says earnestly, “Yeah, I guess he is.”

Chris lets out a deep breath and Jensen can just imagine the relieved expression on his face. “Well, Hallelujah. Now go and have happy-knotty-sex or whatever werewolves do to make up for being an asshole to their mates.” 

“Chris!” Jensen exclaims shocked. 

“My best friend was turned into a werewolf, so I had to broaden my horizons. Besides, don’t act so surprised, I was there when Jared yelled that you were begging for his knot.”

“Shut up!” Jensen says loudly, but he’s laughing. “Or I’ll tell you all about how it feels.”

“Oh god,” Chris groans. “I’m hanging up now. Call me if you need anything.”

Jensen cackles. “Love you too, fucker.”

  


Jared’s watching Jensen talk to Chris on the phone through the large living room window. He sees how his mate’s features soften the longer he talks to Chris. The tension slowly falls from his shoulders and in the end he’s laughing freely. 

It’s the first time since that fateful night that Jensen’s laughed like this. His head is thrown back, baring his neck, and his eyes sparkle with mischief. It’s a good look on him, a look Jared’s missed during the last few days. 

It hurts a little and his inside Alpha is roaring with jealousy, that Chris was the one to put that look back on Jensen’s face. But rationally Jared’s just glad that Jensen has such good friends besides him. 

He gives Jensen a few minutes, before he goes out there and sits down next to him. Their shoulders brush and he feels Jensen tensing a little. Jared sighs and waits for something, anything, from Jensen. 

“You think your dad’ll be able to get through to people? I mean, I don’t want this to turn into a war just because we couldn’t keep it in our pants.”

It’s not what Jared expected, but it’s a start. “I’m sure. He’s good at what he does and he’s always been one to support werewolf/human interaction.”

“I feel really bad for what happened to the young werewolf in New York.” Jensen sounds tired and Jared lays his hand on the small of his back and starts rubbing small circles into the skin.

“You know that this was only an excuse, right? They would have beaten him up no matter what,” Jared says. “They were looking for a fight and this just gave them an easy excuse.”

“Yeah, probably. I still feel bad though.”

“Yeah, me too,” Jared agrees, but they both know there’s nothing they can do about it right now. 

“So, uhm,” Jensen clears his throat, “Chris thinks I should tell you about my fucked up past.”

Jared looks out over the back yard. Sarah and the pups have gone back inside again and the sun is making its way over the trees, bathing the tree line in bright light. He knows that there’s something in Jensen’s past he doesn’t know of and it hurts, but he’s also a little nervous about knowing what went down. 

“What about you? Do you think I should know?” 

Jensen sighs. “I think he might be right, doesn’t mean I really want to tell you.”

“Jen-,”

Jensen continues as if he hasn’t heard Jared. “Why would I tell my mate something that might make him love me less?”

There’s sadness and uncertainty in his voice, but Jared thinks he might detect some hint of challenge there as well. Also, the way Jensen says the word mate sends a warm shiver down Jared’s spine. He puts his forefinger beneath Jensen’s jaw, turning his head slightly. 

“Because I’m your mate and I will love you unconditionally. Always.”

Something flashes in Jensen’s eyes and Jared thinks it might be the wish to believe Jared, to believe in Jared. He leans forward a little and brushes his lips against Jensen’s in a soft, reassuring kiss. When he pulls back, Jensen starts chewing on his bottom lip, and for a second Jared thinks that Jensen might have changed his mind, until he starts speaking. 

“I was always a disappointment to my parents.” He looks out over the back yard and it seems like he’s lost in a different time and place. “Nothing was ever good enough in their eyes. Josh, my older brother, always was the golden boy of the family. I could never measure up. Josh played a lot of sports, football, baseball, basketball, you name it and he excelled at it. And even though my grades were always better than his, they were never good enough. Maybe it was because I was a bookworm, a thinker, I don’t know, but my parents were never happy with anything I did.” 

Jared wants to offer support, but he doesn’t want to risk interrupting Jensen. So he takes Jensen’s hand between his and starts rubbing lightly over the back with his thumb. Jensen still seems very far away. 

“I was thirteen when I realized that I might be gay. Scared the crap out of me. I mean, it was still Texas and even though it might have been worse ten or twenty years ago, it still wasn’t accepted overall.” He looks at Jared and he gives Jensen a small, encouraging smile. “I came out when I was sixteen and I still remember how my father looked at me, disappointed and resigned, as if I was the biggest failure in the world. They didn’t disown me, because that would have only caused gossip. So, I lived in their house, with their disappointed looks, until I left for college. Me choosing physical therapy as a profession didn’t exactly make our relationship better.”

“Jensen-,”

“No, Jay. Just let me get this out,” he says, letting out a deep breath. “I moved on to college and far away from my parents and for the first time, I finally felt like my own person. No expectations… no disappointed looks. It was nice. That’s when I met Ian. He was a little older than me, working on becoming a lawyer, son of one of the richest men in Texas and he was interested in me, or at least I thought so.” 

He sighs. “I was blind and in love, so in love. Chris and Steve told me from the beginning that Ian was just playing with me, using me. I didn’t believe them. I even cut ties with them for a while, because Ian wanted me to. He was fucking with my head and I didn’t even realize it. For the first time in my life my parents were supposedly happy with me and my boyfriend. Our family has money, but me marrying Ian Cameron that would have been a coup.”

Jared feels anger burning hotly in his veins. He wants to run and seek revenge, tear out some throats out and declare victory over the people that have hurt Jensen. He knows it’s the Alpha inside of him and it’s one of the rare times that he wants to give over completely to his instincts and push his human side to the back of his head. 

“What happened?” he asks, feeling a little breathless. 

“We were supposed to get married; both our mothers had been planning it for months. I got home from school one day – that was the only thing I held onto and I was about to start writing my doctoral thesis –and found him in bed with a girl.” Jensen sounds completely detached, as if recounting a story that he wasn’t even a part of. “He told me that I could never be enough for him and that I should just get used to him fucking someone on the side. I called off the wedding and my mom was furious. A year later Chris, told me that they were moving to Seattle and SGH gave me a job. So, here I am.”

Jared’s body is on fire, he’s furious. Needing to let go of some steam and yet knowing that he can’t leave Jensen alone, not now, not after confessing all that went wrong in his life, he cups Jensen’s head between his hands. 

“You’re perfect, Jen,” Jared says softly, rubbing his thumbs over Jensen’s cheekbones. “I can’t believe someone could think that you’re not enough. You’re gorgeous, loving, kind, funny. I love that you can sit immersed in a book for hours, but also be ready to pull pranks with your friends any second. You’re so strong; you put yourself through school and did what you believed in.” He lays his forehead against Jensen’s. “I wouldn’t want anyone else to be my mate.”

“I was a mess,” Jensen says quietly. “After I left Ian, I mean. I promised myself to never open my heart like that, and be so vulnerable, again.” He wraps his warm fingers around Jared’s wrists. “I want to; with you I want to. But you gotta give me time, Jay.”

Jared smiles. “All the time in the world, Jen. You’re mine now and I’m not letting you go ever again.”

“Yours?” Jensen asks and his voice is shaking. 

“Mine.” Jared nods seriously. “Always mine.”

They sit outside for a long while, just holding each other and Jared takes comfort in the presence of his mate, hoping that they can move on with their relationship now. It won’t be easy, but it’ll be worth it. 

  


Jensen doesn’t know how much time has passed when Sherry comes out and they break apart. He feels lighter now, after getting everything out. He’s also a little in awe that Jared’s still here, that he didn’t just up and leave because Jensen wasn’t able to do anything right. 

Maybe, just maybe, he can have his cake and eat it too. 

“Boys, the Alpha is about to start the press conference.”

Jared nods. “We’re coming, Mom.” He looks back at Jensen, entwining their fingers. “You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.” Jensen sighs. “This’ll change everything, right? We’ll never be seen as the same guys as before.”

Jared presses a quick kiss to his lips. “Doesn’t matter. Not to us.”

Jensen smiles a little and follows Jared into the living room. Sarah and Sherry are already sitting on the couch, the pups playing on the floor, and Jared pulls him down at the other end of the couch, never taking his hand away. 

_“We now switch directly to the press conference of Alpha Gerald Padalecki regarding the first human/werewolf change in half a millennia,”_ the blonde news anchor says and the camera cuts to Gerry standing at the front of a large conference room, which is packed with journalists and photographers. 

_“Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming here on such short notice,”_ Gerry says, looking around the room nodding lightly. _“Let me start with saying that I’ve always supported werewolf and human interaction. We live in one world and it has never occurred to me that it would be more suitable to cut it in half. I still don’t think so. I know that the news of a human changing into a werewolf has caused fear and uncertainty, and I hope I’ll be able to answer all of your questions.”_

_“First of all I want to tell you that Jensen Ackles is doing fine. There were no problems during the first transformation and we’re positive that everything will be fine when he’s changing into his wolf form for the first time this weekend._

_“Jensen and my middle son Jared have been friends for a couple of years now and we could all see that they were really close from the start, even moving in together as roommates after a couple of months. My wife and I welcomed Jensen to our family with open arms and he’s been a welcomed guest in our house since. Jared and Jensen have almost been joined at the hip for the last two years and this is where this is a very special case.”_

Jensen tunes him out a little when he starts talking about soul mates and mating history, and how werewolves were able to find their soul mates in humans back in the day. He just concentrates on how Jared feels next to him. Jared’s body is warm and strong and Jensen leans against it carefully. It’s only when Jared puts his arm around his shoulders and gives him a crooked grin that Jensen melts against Jared’s body completely. 

They fit seamlessly; as if Jensen hadn’t noticed this before, the realization still astounds him. \ _“So, does that mean a werewolf and a human would have to have sex in order to change the human?”_

The question of one of the reporters pulls Jensen back to the present and the press conference. He listens to Gerry’s deep voice and all of a sudden he knows that so much more is needed in order to change a human, because what Jared and he have is something not everyone shares.

_“Yes and no,”_ Gerry answers. _“There has to be sexual intercourse, as well as knotting and a mating bite involved.”_

Jensen feels his cheeks heat up at the matter-of-fact way Gerry explains what happened to himself and Jared. 

_“But – and this is the most important fact – the two people having sex have to be soul mates. That means two halves of one whole.”_

“See, that’s what I said,” Jared murmurs into Jensen’s ear and sends a shiver down his spine. 

_“Does that mean a werewolf wouldn’t be able to just turn a human against their will?”_

_“No. No werewolf would be able to do that, no matter what he or she tells you. This can only happen when two soul mates have sex.”_

_“This has been the first changing in half a millennia. Why do you think it happened now?”_

Gerry lets out a deep breath. _“I wish I had an answer to that. I can only assume – like all the other Alphas of the packs all over the world – that it has something to do with our packs reducing in numbers. More old werewolves are dying than young are being born. But like I said, this is only an assumption.”_

_“Alpha, do you have a last word for the citizens of Seattle and the people all over the world?”_

_“Yes,”_ Gerry nods. _“Don’t panic. A changing is nothing that can be forced on you. If you want to be sure nothing happens, don’t have sex with random strangers. But I could say that for HIV and every other STD as well.”_ He grins a little and the room chuckles quietly. _“So, this is all new to us, let’s deal with this together, like all the other changes we’ve made together. If there are questions, problems or suggestions, the Werewolf Council has set up a hotline you can call. Human or werewolf, we’re there to answer all your questions to the best of our knowledge.”_

After that, the press conference is over and Sherryi turns off the TV. “I think that went really well.”

“Yeah, let’s hope people will react positively to this,” Sarah says, shooting a look at the two pups playing undisturbed on the floor. 

“Let’s,” Jared says and lets out a small yawn. 

Jensen looks up at him and grins. “You tired? Maybe we should take a nap. I could definitely use one.”

Jared’s eyes widen slightly at the implication and he practically jumps off the couch, pulling Jensen with him. 

“We’re upstairs, Mom.”

Sherry smirks. “Sure. You want me to call you down for dinner?”

“Maybe you can just put something in the fridge for us?” Jared asks, looking a little sheepish. 

Sarah laughs and Sherryi shakes her head fondly. “Be glad that you’re freshly mated, Jared Tristan Padalecki.”

Jensen’s cheeks are burning hotly by the time Jared pulls him out of the room and up the stairs. Of course they know what Jared and he are up to. But do they have to act so smugly about it?

The door to Jared’s old bedroom closes behind them and Jensen finds himself trapped between Jared’s body and the door. Heat is radiating off Jared, causing goose bumps to rise on Jensen’s skin and he pulls Jared closer to him. 

“Jen,” Jared whispers, his breath ghosting over Jensen’s slightly parted lips. 

“Y’know, I’m pretty new to the mating thing, so you might have to show me how this works,” he says teasingly, pushing his hands beneath Jared’s t-shirt and running his fingertips lightly across the muscles above the waistband of Jared’s jeans. 

Jared shudders against him and growls, “I’ll show you all right.” 

He spins Jensen around and pushes him towards the bed. Jensen tumbles onto the soft covers and chuckles lightly, when Jared climbs atop him, straddling his hips. He leans down, suckling Jensen’s bottom lip into his mouth and nipping gently at the soft skin. 

“Hmm,” Jensen mewls, arching his back towards Jared’s body. 

“You sure, Jen?” Jared asks, pulling away a little and looking at him seriously. “There’s no going back from here.”

Jensen grins. “You didn’t ask the last time.”

Jared nods. “I know. But this is different, Jen. Last time was about getting it out of the system.”

“And this time?”

“This time it’d be me making love to my mate,” Jared says and the softness and vulnerability in his voice makes Jensen melt and his heart skip a beat. “You need to be sure, Jen. I can’t- I couldn’t- just mean it, please.”

Jensen feels a pang in his heart and he promises himself to make all his asshole moves up to Jared and show him that Jensen cares. “I mean it, Jay. I can’t promise you that I won’t freak out again, but I want it, I want you.”

He sucks his bottom lip between his teeth and waits for Jared to say something. This is still scary and a part of him would rather hide than be here. But it’s time to have a little faith in Jared and trust him not to hurt Jensen. 

“Good,” Jared smiles, licking his tongue across the skin of Jensen’s neck, causing it to tingle and sending bright sparks down to Jensen’s groin. 

“Jay,” he pants, baring his neck to give Jared more room to kiss and lick and suck. 

“Shh, Jen,” Jared murmurs, pushing Jensen’s arms above his head and holding them there with just one hand, while the other pulls up his shirt and starts playing with his nipples. “I’ve got you.”

It’s so fucking hot that Jared’s able to hold Jensen like this and his dick is so fucking hard in his jeans. His eyes roll back into his head and he concentrates on the sensations Jared’s hands are eliciting in his body. He hadn’t noticed before but his skin is more sensitive to touch now and each touch is like lighting a fire deep inside his belly. 

Jared scratches a fingernail over one of his nipples and Jensen throws his head back. He’s never been into nippleplay, never saw the appeal, but now he’s sure he could come just from Jared just playing with his nipples for hours. 

“Shit, Jay, fuck-,”

“I didn’t know you liked that, Jen,” Jared whispers, chuckling lightly. “You like me playing with your nipples, Jen?” Jensen nods, bucking his hips, looking for friction where there’s none. “I could do that for hours, baby. You’re so responsive.” He pushes Jensen’s wrists down once more. “Keep them there for me, Jen.”

“Jay,” he whines, because he can’t wait to get his hands on Jared’s warm skin. 

“No touching, Jen. It’s my turn to find out about all the spots that’ll drive my mate crazy.” He pushes Jensen’s t-shirt over his head and then latches on to one of Jensen’s nipples, sucking and nibbling at the tight nub. 

His hands are stroking hot skin, following dips of muscles and Jensen feels like his flying. He feels lighthearted and dizzy and honestly if it’s like this right now, how will it be when Jared’s inside of him? 

“Jay,” he whines. “Please I need-,”

“I know exactly what you need, Jen,” he whispers, pulling his shirt over his head and slipping out of his jeans and boxers. “First I’m gonna suck you,” he makes his way down Jensen’s body, tracing muscles with his tongue, “make you come in my mouth and then,” he pops open the button of Jensen’s jeans and pulls them and Jensen’s boxers over his hips in one go, “I’m gonna use your come to finger you open, make you ready for my cock.”

Jensen groans, tightening his fingers in the pillow above him. He wishes he could just sink his fingers into Jared’s soft hair and hold on for the ride. 

“Oh Jesus fuck, do it, Jay, do it.”

Jared licks his lips and winks at him, before leaning down and taking Jensen’s cock into his mouth. It’s wet and hot and perfect and Jensen thinks he might just die right here. Jared seems to know exactly how Jensen likes it, suckling on the head with just the right amount of pressure and dipping his tongue into the slit. 

“Fuck, Jay, your mouth.”

Jensen can’t stop himself any longer and pushes his fingers into Jared’s hair, feeling the movement of his head. He lifts his head a little to watch his cock slide in and out of Jared’s mouth, his lips being stretched wide around the length. Jared’s looking at him through half-lidded eyes and Jensen loses it at the intensity that he finds there. 

He comes down Jared’s throat with a hoarse cry, his fingers tightening in Jared’s hair. His head is swimming with pleasure and he barely notices Jared bringing his fingers down to his entrance before a slick finger is pushed inside him. Jensen’s completely on fire and needs Jared inside of him right the fuck now. 

Jared seems to think so too, because he pushes a second finger inside Jensen, stretching him quickly. 

“So fucking hot,” Jared whispers. “You look so good stretched around my fingers.” He wriggles the two fingers inside of Jensen, brushing his fingertips against Jensen’s prostate in the process. 

Jensen bucks his hips. “Fuck me, Jay. Need you inside me- Right. The. Fuck. Now.”

Jared smirks and nods, pulling his fingers out and positioning his cock against Jensen’s hole. Slowly, he pushes inside and Jensen relaxes to let him in. Jared bottoms out eventually and Jensen feels so full; full of Jared and it’s a heady feeling. He wraps his legs around Jared’s hips to bring him in deeper and his fingers sink into Jared’s hair again, pulling his head down and into a passionate kiss. 

He pushes his tongue into Jared’s mouth and tastes the coffee Jared drank earlier along with something that’s entirely his mate. 

His mate. Jared’s his mate. 

Jensen pulls away and opens his eyes, looking right into Jared’s. They’re so close they share the same breath. It’s intimate and it completely blows Jensen’s mind. Jared’s expression is soft and loving and he slows down his rhythm. 

“Mine,” he whispers, sounding completely in awe. 

“Yours,” Jensen agrees softly and Jared kisses him gently.

Jared picks up the pace again, but their eyes stay locked and the lust and love Jensen finds in those hazel-green eyes makes him dizzy. His whole body is burning with pleasure and he needs to come again. Jared’s thrusts get slower again and he feels Jared’s knot pushing inside him, stretching him so wide that he thinks he might burst. But it feels so good, so damn good. 

“Jay,” he pants out. “I need to come.”

Leaning down Jared licks over the bite mark he left there a week ago and the sensations this showing of love causes, pushes Jensen over the edge. Jared’s knot is pressing insistently against his prostate and Jensen comes again, painting both their bellies white. 

“Oh god, Jen. I-,” Jared grits out and sinks his teeth into the skin where his bite mark is. 

The slight pain only doubles the pleasure running through Jensen’s veins and he sinks his fingers into Jared’s hair, holding his head right there. 

When he comes down from his high, he can still feel Jared coming inside of him and shit, his cock is already trying to get hard again. 

“Fuck,” he breathes. “I- This is getting better and better.”

Jared chuckles lightly, pressing soft kisses to Jensen’s neck. “It’s the bond. It’s getting stronger.”

“The bond?” Jensen asks, a little confused. 

Jared lifts his head and his eyes are lust blown and his lips swollen from their kisses. He looks like incarnated sin. “The mating bond. I told you that I can feel your distress. I can also feel your pleasure and you can feel mine.”

“Oh.”

Jared chuckles lightly and his knot vibrates in Jensen’s body, making him shudder. “It’ll only get better, Jen.”

“I think I’ll die then.”

“Oh no, you won’t.” Jared grins and shakes his head. “You might die from embarrassment when we go back downstairs, though.”

“Oh god,” Jensen groans and feels his cheeks heat up. 

“But that’s not for a while.” Jared’s voice dips lower and turns husky. “First I’m gonna make you scream again.”

He rocks his hips and sparks of pleasure shoot through Jensen’s body. “Shit, Jay.”

When Jared’s soft again and he pulls out, Jensen feels completely fucked out and yet he misses Jared’s hardness inside of him. A quick kiss is dropped to his lips, before Jared makes his way to the bathroom to get them something to clean up with, and Jensen thinks that maybe they’ll be able to make this work. 

Maybe this werewolf-mating-thing is not so bad. 


	8. The Breath You Take 8/?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a world where werewolves and humans live next to each other but haven’t mated in over five-hundred years, Jensen and Jared met, hit it off and became fast friends. Jared, the son of Seattle pack’s alpha, is already very much in love with Jensen – even though he knows there’s no chance for their happily-ever-after – when a night of drunken sex changes everything both of them believed to be true.

  


Jared wakes to the feeling of Jensen’s hot lips on his skin. They’re kissing every inch of his body, making him hot all over and Jared lets out something that sounds a lot like a purr.

Jensen’s lips pull away and Jared moans in protest, opening his eyes. 

“Morning.”

Jensen’s hovering above him and Jared pushes up onto his elbows, capturing Jensen’s mouth in a soft kiss. 

“Morning,” he murmurs. “Why are you awake? It’s barely light outside.”

Jensen sits up, leaning back against the headboard and Jared rolls onto his belly, resting his head in his hands. He waits for Jensen to explain what’s going on, because he can feel that something’s not right. It’s a weird feeling, nothing like he’s experienced in the two weeks since they mated. This is not Jensen being afraid to let Jared in or Jensen not trusting Jared to love him. This is different. 

“I couldn’t sleep any longer.” Jensen looks down at Jared, running his fingers through his hair gently. “It’s tonight, isn’t it? I’ll change tonight?”

Jared swallows. They’ve been at his parents’ place for a week now and Jared has to admit that with all the other things going on, he hadn’t really thought about Jensen’s first changing cycle. Yeah, it was there at the back of his mind, but it never came to the forefront. 

“I can feel it, Jay,” Jensen says slowly. “I’m restless, my skin feels too tight and I just feel like I need to run, stretch my legs.”

“You scared?” Jared asks, pulling on Jensen’s legs, until his mate is lying half beneath him. “You gotta tell me, Jen. Because I never – for me it never was anything new. I just shifted whenever I wanted to. Even as a kid it was just a part of me.”

“I’m not scared. Anxious, yeah, confused too, but not really scared,” Jensen explains quietly. “I probably should be, but I’m not. It’s more like I can’t wait to change. My body – it feels like it needs to shift to put everything back into focus.” 

“It’s the pull of the moon. I’ve always been able to change whenever I wanted to, but even I feel the pull of the moon.” Jared drops a soft kiss to Jensen’s mouth. “I can’t wait to see you. I’m sure you’ll be a gorgeous wolf.”

A slight blush creeps onto Jensen’s cheeks and he shakes his head, smiling a little. “I can’t believe we’re having this conversation.”

“Why?” Jared frowns. 

“It’s surreal, Jay. I mean – God, I never thought – Why me? Over five hundred years and nothing’s happened. Why us?”

“I don’t know, Jen.” Jared pulls away to sit up, reaching for his boxers and pulling them over his hips. “Does it really matter?” he asks and his heart beats a little faster while he waits for Jensen’s answer. 

“Jared,” Jensen says softly, scooting over to Jared’s side of the bed. 

He pushes up onto his knees and reaches out, hooking his fingers into the waistband of Jared’s boxers. Jared lets himself be dragged over to where his mate is kneeling, trying to ignore the feeling of his naked mate against him. 

“What?” he asks, looking at the ceiling. 

“Will you please look at me?” Jensen pleads and Jared sighs, looking down at his mate. Jensen’s eyes are a deeper shade of green than normal and Jared wonders if this has anything to do with the impending shift. “I don’t think it matters, not for what we mean to each other. I’m still curious, though, because three weeks ago I forbade myself to even think about you in this way and now we’re here, together and mated.”

He puts his arms around Jared’s neck, pulling him down and into a gentle kiss. Pushing inside Jared’s mouth, Jared lets him take the lead for once, because he’s still too in awe to really process what Jensen’s just said. It’s the first time he’s come close to saying that he loves Jared and that just blows Jared’s mind. 

“Come back to bed, Jay,” Jensen whispers against his lips, breath ghosting over the swollen skin. “It’s way too early to be up.” 

A wave of pheromones hits Jared and he pushes Jensen back on the bed, getting rid of his boxers and then climbing back on the bed himself. He covers Jensen’s body with his and shivers when Jensen arches into his touch. 

They’ve had sex a lot over the last week; getting to know each other’s bodies but Jared still can’t get enough of his mate. Their groins are rubbing together and their moans are swallowed by heated kisses. They’ve learned to be quieter while having sex, after Kyle had asked them the morning after their first night there, whether Jensen was in pain because he kept screaming. 

They can be loud when they get back to their own apartment in a few days. 

“Jay, need you,” Jensen whispers into his ear, his voice raw and husky. 

Jared scrambles for the lube and prepares Jensen first with one, then two and then three fingers, loving the feel of Jensen’s ass gripping him tight. It’s hot and tight and perfect and when Jared pushes inside, he lets out a deep contented breath. 

Jensen’s writhing beneath him, a light sheen of sweat covers his body and Jared wraps his fingers around Jensen’s cock, jerking him with slow, deliberate pulls until Jensen’s a quivering mess, quietly begging for release. 

The delicious squeeze around his knot is what pushes him over the edge, his come shooting inside Jensen. For a second, Jared wonders what it would be like to breed Jensen, make him carry Jared’s pups. But he pushes the thought aside, because only three percent of male werewolves worldwideare able to carry pups and Jared’s pretty sure that a turned human isn’t part of that three percent. 

“You okay?” Jensen’s voice is soft and Jared looks down at him while another wave of pleasure rips through is body, making him shiver. 

He leans down. “Very,” he whispers, kissing Jensen long and deep making him gasp for breath. He rocks his hips slowly back and forth, making Jensen moan. “You’re so gorgeous when you come, Jen. Wanna see you come again.”

He’s still shooting come in Jensen’s body and he knows from the way Jensen’s shuddering beneath him, that it hits Jensen’s prostate directly. Leaning down, he licks wetly down Jensen’s neck, lapping at his bite mark. His hands come up and he starts playing with Jensen’s nipples. It completely blows Jared’s mind how sensitive Jensen’s nipples are and how responsive his mate is when Jared plays with them. 

Jensen’s head is thrown back and his mouth is open in a silent scream, while Jared feels his cock grown hard again between their bellies. He grins, nipping at Jensen’s earlobe.

“You love that, don’t you? Love when I play with your nipples.” 

Jensen groans, “Jay.”

Jared rocks his hips again, pushing his knot right into Jensen’s prostate and swallowing the scream that’s about to leave Jensen’s mouth with his own. He sucks on Jensen’s tongue, while playing with Jensen’s nipples and pressing his knot right into his mate’s prostate. It doesn’t take long for Jensen to come again, his eyes blown wide with lust and pleasure, his fingernails digging into Jared’s back, probably leaving marks. 

Keeping his eyes on Jensen the whole time, Jared feels another wave of pleasure flowing freely through his veins, making him gasp for breath it’s so intense. He buries his head in the crook of Jensen’s neck, taking in his unique scent and trying to catch his breath. Jensen’s hands come up and soft fingers comb through Jared’s hair.

He falls asleep like this again, still buried deep inside his mate and with soft fingers caressing him. 

  


It’s an hour or so later, when Jensen scoots out from under Jared’s body, Jared’s cock having gone soft and slipping out a while ago. He presses a soft kiss to his mate’s shoulder before he goes into the bathroom. 

A part of him expects himself to look different each morning when he looks into the mirror. But he still looks the same, he hasn’t changed one bit on the outside since Jared turned him. All of the changes are happening inside and Jensen finds it a little unsettling that none of the changes can be seen. 

His whole life has changed, turned upside down, but he still looks the same. It’s like losing your virginity, everything changed and yet you still look the same, even though you don’t feel like it. 

Stepping under the shower spray he hopes that the hot water will be able to help ease the restless feeling in his body. He stretches his legs and arms, but it’s still not enough, won’t be enough until he’s able to shift. 

It should freak him the fuck out, but it doesn’t – not like the mating-thing did. His body is even thrumming with excitement even if his mind is a little more cautious. Toweling off he looks out of the window and sees Kyle and Laura playing in the back yard in their wolf forms. He wonders if they feel it too, the need to run and be free. 

The smell of bacon and eggs hits him as soon as he walks downstairs. Sherry looks over her shoulder when he enters the kitchen and grins at him. 

“Now, you look like you could use a good breakfast,” she teases, putting together a plate with bacon, eggs and toast for him. 

He grins sheepishly at her and takes a seat at the counter. “Thanks. And sorry, if we were too loud, once again.”

Sherry laughs. “Oh honey, you still have a lot to learn about werewolves. If you have better hearing and sense of smell than most people, you learn to accept hearing certain things and ignore them.” She sits down across from him, pouring him a glass of OJ. “So tonight’s the big night, huh?”

Jensen nods. “Yeah.”

“Well, we’ll be with you, so don’t worry about it. Everything will be fine.”

Jensen smiles. “Thanks.” He could tell her that he’s not really worried, but he isn’t in the mood to explain himself again. He nods at the turned off TV. “Any more bad news?”

It’s been a week since Gerry’s press conference and the attack of the werewolf in New York City. The young man is doing better and like Gerry hoped, they’ve been able to keep it quiet so far, but the media is still not letting the topic ‘first human turning in half a millennia’ go. 

There’ve been demonstrations arranged all over the place by humans and werewolves alike, wishing for separate cities and communities, but also demonstrations for living amongst each other. Scientists keep giving interviews about the topic, claiming that there are no scientific facts that a changing can only happen between soul mates and that people have to be careful. 

Jensen even caught an interview with some werewolves that claimed they wouldn’t want half-breeds in their midst, because that would ruin the pure bloodlines. 

What the hell? 

He never thought that him getting turned into a werewolf would cause such a commotion. Gerry told him that it was only because all the critics of a shared human/werewolf community were using it to lobby their beliefs and that it’ll die down soon, but that doesn’t make Jensen feel better. He never wanted to be the reason that caused a rift between humans and werewolves. 

“Just the usual,” Sherry says and pulls Jensen out of his own thoughts. “I haven’t listened to all of it. Most of the talk is bullshit anyway.”

“You think it’ll quiet down soon?” Jensen asks, taking a sip of his coffee. 

Sherri sighs. “I think that they just needed a reason to bring it all up again. Separating human and werewolf communities isn’t exactly a new topic, y’know? I remember being a pup, when there was a rogue werewolf killing humans and werewolves alike, my parents feared that it would end our way of life. Gerry’s dad and a lot of the other Alpha’s all over the world made sure that didn’t happen. Doesn’t mean there aren’t werewolves who support such a thing. I know there are packs that live completely isolated from human contact.”

“I never thought about it before,” Jensen admits. “I mean, I grew up in Dallas and there are only a few werewolves living there. So I didn’t know much about them – or should I say us?” Sherry only grins at him and he continues, “But when I moved to Seattle I just accepted that there were werewolves living next to me. It was never a problem.”

“Some people are more closed-minded than others,” Sherry says. “I remember reading about the scandal of the first same sex werewolf pair in the late 18th century. Now, you wouldn’t even blink twice at that.”

Jensen snorts. “You know, humans could learn from your tolerance.” 

Sherry smiles. “Maybe they will one day.” She kisses his cheek. “I’m sure there’s still a lot we can all learn from each other.”

“I wish other people would think like you,” Jensen sighs, pushing away his empty plate. “Thanks for breakfast, Sherry.”

Footsteps on the stairs and the distinct smell of soil and fir tell Jensen that his mate’s finally awake and a second later, Jared wraps his long arms around Jensen’s body, pressing a quick kiss to his nape. 

“Morning.” 

Jared walks over to Sherry and drops a kiss to her hair, before filling himself a mug with coffee and sitting down next to Jensen. 

“Dad in Seattle?” he asks and Sherry nods. 

“Yeah, he’s meeting with the Council.”

Jared hand comes up to lie warm against the small of Jensen’s back and Jensen leans into the touch. “Hopefully all the crap will quiet down soon enough.”

“I don’t think so.” They all turn around to see Chad and Sophia walking through the front door. “There was a huge bar brawl at _Kane’s_ last night.” 

“What?!” Jensen and Jared ask at the same time. “

Chad nods grimly and Jensen can see that Sophia is barely holding back her tears. “Yeah. Some stupid fuckers got into an argument over your turning and Chris, of course, came to your defense, told them to can it or leave. But they called him werewolf-lover – as if that’s an insult – and threw a few punches. There were enough of us – and with ‘us’ I mean Chris and Steve’s friends – to kick them out, but they threatened to come back with more people.”

“Chris and Steve are keeping the bar closed for a few days, even though Chris really didn’t want to. We were able to convince him, though,” Sophia says, wiping her eyes and Chad puts her arm around her body, pulling her close. 

“I was expecting some strong reactions, but nothing like this. I didn’t know there were so much hate between humans and werewolves,” Sherry says, shaking her head sadly. 

“That’s not all,” Chad says seriously. “The executive board at the hospital decided to have different wings for humans and werewolves from now on. They say it’s only for a few weeks, until everything quiets down. But I don’t believe it.”

“Shit,” Jensen breathes, seeking comfort in Jared’s touch and his mate wraps an arm around his chest. 

“But how does that even work?” Jared asks. “I mean, Jeff Morgan is human, so who’s our attending now?” 

Chad grumbles, “That’s yet to be determined. They haven’t really thought this through, I’d say.”

“Because it’s stupid,” Jared says. “I can’t believe this shit.”

“Jay,” Jensen says, laying a calming hand on Jared’s forearm. 

“No,” Jared pulls away. “This is bullshit.”

“We’re just as upset as you are, JT,” Sherry says. “But there’s nothing we can do about this right now. So let’s just concentrate on Jensen’s first changing, okay?”

Jared deflates a little. “I just hate this,” he says quietly. 

“I know,” Jensen says and cups Jared’s face between his hands. “I hate it too, but right now there’s nothing we can do to make it better, but I believe that people will come to their senses eventually, especially when the media lets go of the whole thing.”

“I love you, you know that,” Jared says seriously and Jensen pulls him into a sweet kiss. 

  


“Okay, I’ll see you when we get back to the apartment on Monday.”

Jensen flips his cell shut and sighs. Chris had told him that he and Steve were okay and that there was not much damage done to the bar and he also promised Jensen to keep the bar closed for a few days. 

“That Chris?” 

Jensen looks up and sees Jared standing over him. He nods. “Yeah, they’re okay. Pissed, but okay.”

Jared smiles a little. “Yeah, I’d be pissed too.” He drops next to Jensen on the steps of the back deck. “I’m sorry,” he breathes and Jensen jerks his head to face his mate.

“What? Why?” he asks, stunned. 

“I didn’t know people would react like this,” Jared says quietly. He sounds sad and sorrowful. 

“Jay, nobody would’ve known.”

“Still,” Jared sighs. “Turning your life upside down was bad enough, and now being the reason that humans and werewolves are fighting – I just – I’m sorry.”

“Jared,” Jensen says, letting out a deep breath. “This is not your fault.” He presses a soft kiss to Jared’s lips. “We’ll get through this together, okay? Everything’ll be okay.” It’s the first time Jensen really believes that it’s true. 

Jared’s eyes grow dark and he pulls Jensen, until Jensen’s sitting in Jared’s lap, with his legs on either side of Jared’s hips. Jensen grins at him amusedly and Jared growls, “You can’t just say something like this and expect me not to be affected.”

Jensen chuckles. “You’re insatiable.”

“Only when it comes to you,” Jared agrees and kisses him hard, plunging his tongue into Jensen’s mouth.

Jensen opens up easily, letting Jared take control of the kiss and moans when Jared sucks on his bottom lip. 

“Boys!” They pull apart and Jensen sees Sherry standing at the glass door that leads into the house. He grins sheepishly at the teasing look she’s giving them. “Come on in and let’s have an early dinner. It’ll get dark in a couple of hours.”

Jared groans, but Jensen climbs off his mate’s lap immediately and follows Sherry. Jared walks behind him, mumbling something about his mom being mean. He shoots Jared an amused grin over his shoulder and rolls his eyes fondly. 

“What?” Jared asks, pouting. 

“You’re cute when you’re pouting,” Jensen says and waits for Jared to stop next to him before he slaps Jared’s ass. 

“I’m not pouting,” Jared protests and Jensen laughs. 

“I believe you are.”

They sit down at one end of the table across from Chad and Sophia, while Sarah and the pups are sitting at the other end with Sherry. Two seats are empty because Jeff and Gerry are still in Seattle. 

Sherry serves Spaghetti Bolognese and the pups seem very pleased with the food and digright in. Jensen can’t hide a grin when he sees their enthusiasm with the meal. They eat mostly in silence until Laura breaks it. 

“Uncle Jensen?” she asks, getting down from her chair and walking over to where Jensen’s seated. 

He looks down at her, picking her up when she raises her arms. “Yeah, sweetie?”

“Momma says that you’ll be shifting for the first time tonight.”

“That’s right, sweetie.”

Laura seems to think about it for some time and then says, “You don’t need to be ‘fraid. It’s really easy. I can show you.”

Jensen’s heart warms at the support the five-year-old is showing him. “That’s really nice of you, sweetie. But I believe your Uncle Jared already called dibs.”

“Oh,” she says, considering that. “But we can play together, right?”

Jensen nods. “Of course, sweetheart.”

The front door opens and Laura scrambles off his lap to run over to her father and grandfather. Jeff and Gerry both look exhausted and Sherry rushes to get them something to eat. 

“How is it going out there?” Jared asks, as soon as his brother and father are seated. 

Gerry sighs. “Not as good as I had hoped, but better than it could have been. We’re working on it and I’m sure it’ll quiet down soon.” 

“When I’m back in Seattle I wanna help,” Jared says and Jensen tenses. He can understand Jared’s need to help, but he’d rather have his mate safe at home. “I’m gonna be pack Alpha one day, so I wanna help. Jeff should be with his family again.”

Jeff smiles and kisses Sarah’s cheek. “I’m not arguing that point. But I’m happy to help with whatever.”

“Yeah, okay,” Gerry says. “It might be a good idea too. Maybe we can do an interview and finally shut up some of those wannabe scientists that all have something to say all of a sudden.”

Jensen sighs and hopes Gerry’s right, but honestly that’s something he can’t worry about right now, because he can feel his skin prickling. His body is thrumming with heat and he feels like he might just explode if he doesn’t shift right the fuck now. 

“Jay,” he breathes and Jared looks over at him. 

The sun’s gone down, Jensen realizes when he looks out of the window over Jared’s shoulder. He needs to go out there and stands up, feeling his legs turning to jelly. Jared’s right there next to him. 

“Don’t fight it, Jen,” he says and his voice sounds different, deeper and more intimate. 

Jensen doesn’t fight it, but he also doesn’t know what’s happening to him. One second he’s still on his two feet, held up by Jared and then his view changes and his senses increase unbelievably. He can hear every heartbeat in the room; can smell every distinctive scent and even knows whom the scent belongs to, and he can feel the need to stretch his limbs and run.

He looks up at Jared, who’s still in his human form and who’s looking at Jensen with something like awe in his eyes. 

“You’re beautiful,” Jared says, rubbing his hand softly over Jensen’s muzzle. 

“I’ve never seen such a beautiful shade of gold,” Sophia says and grins at Jensen. 

Jensen trots over to her and it surprises him a little that he doesn’t have a problem with his balance. Could be because he’s on four legs, but he also doesn’t have a problem with coordinating his legs and that’s an even bigger surprise. He nudges Sophia’s hand and she laughs. 

“We’ll join you in a second, Jen.”

He looks over his shoulder and sees Jared climbing out of his clothes and then instead of Jared’s beautiful body, there’s a huge gray wolf standing in front of him. The scent doesn’t change, though and Jensen turns to look at his mate. He’s never seen Jared in his wolf form before and it takes his breath away a little. 

Jared’s gorgeous and impressive as a wolf, but what makes Jensen’s heart beat faster is feeling Jared’s love for him through their bond. It almost knocks him to his knees because it’s so intense. There’s no doubt anymore that Jared loves him, that Jared wants this, wants Jensen. 

Jensen walks over to his mate, bending his head and Jared lays his head on Jensen’s neck for a second, before nudging Jensen in the direction of the door. 

The second Jensen steps on the back deck, he feels the fresh air burn in his lungs and the different scents of trees and flowers invade his senses. It’s a heady feeling and he jumps into the back yard, stretching his limbs before taking off into the woods. 

Jared’s right behind him, Jensen can feel and hear him. But for now Jensen only focuses on the way it feels to stretch his legs while running; how the fresh air fills his lungs and makes him want to run faster. 

For the first time in his life he feels completely alive. It’s as if he was born for this. 


	9. The Breath You Take 9/?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a world where werewolves and humans live next to each other but haven’t mated in over five-hundred years, Jensen and Jared met, hit it off and became fast friends. Jared, the son of Seattle pack’s alpha, is already very much in love with Jensen – even though he knows there’s no chance for their happily-ever-after – when a night of drunken sex changes everything both of them believed to be true.

  


It’s dark, but Jared has no problem seeing Jensen running ahead of him. 

It almost took his breath away when Jensen shifted into this big, beautiful wolf. Jared should have known that Jensen would be beautiful no matter what form, but the shade of Jensen’s fur is something Jared’s never seen before. It’s golden with white spots on his belly and his muzzle. Beautiful, Jared has no other word for it. 

Jensen’s running fast as if he’s chasing something, his legs stretching gracefully and Jared feels completely entranced by watching Jensen take to his wolf form with such ease. Jensen looks over his shoulder and Jared sees his deep green eyes sparkling in the moonlight that pervades the branches of the trees. 

His mate stops a few feet away from him, turns completely towards Jared and he feels his heart beat quicker in his chest. Jensen’s never said ‘I love you’, but Jared can feel that he does. Their bond is at its strongest in their wolf form and Jared can feel Jensen’s love for him as if it’s palpable. Jensen cocks his head and it looks like he’s grinning, challenging Jared to come and catch him. 

A second later, he ducks into the undergrowth and Jared runs after him. Jensen’s smart and clever, criss-crossing through the woods and making it hard for Jared to catch him. But in the end Jared’s still an Alpha and when he jumps Jensen from the side and they both tumble to the ground, Jensen bares his neck without hesitation. 

It’s such a turn-on that Jared has problems keeping his arousal in check, because he doesn’t want to fuck Jensen in his wolf form. He wants to feel his mate’s muscles beneath his fingers, wants to be able to kiss and devour Jensen’s mouth, and first and foremost he wants to be able to look at Jensen’s face. He licks over Jensen’s muzzle and Jensen returns the sentiment. 

For a while they just lie there on the muddy ground, catching their breath and Jared relishes the feeling of the bond between them. Lying here like this, they feel more like they’re one and Jared never knew it’d be like this. But now, having Jensen here, he can finally understand the things Chad and Sophia, his mom and dad, Jeff and Sarah, and Mike and Tom are saying when they talk about their mating bond. 

It leaves him breathless, hungry for everything Jensen’s ready to give him.

Jared can feel the sun coming up long before it actually shows and he nudges Jensen, motioning for him to follow Jared home. They run back slower and barely make it in time for Jensen to change back to his human form. 

He’s standing in Jared’s parent’s living room, looking at his shredded clothes, when Jared walks in back in his human form. 

“I shredded my clothes,” he says, sounding a little sad and Jared chuckles. 

“It happens,” he replies and pulls Jensen back against his chest, with his arms tight around his mate’s body. “You don’t wanna know how many clothes I shredded when I was still a pup.” They stand like this for a few minutes in silence, before Jared says, “You’re a beautiful wolf. Not that I had any doubt about that.”

Jensen turns in Jared’s arms. “Jay,” he breathes, running his thumb over Jared’s bottom lip. Jared growls playfully and nips at it. Jensen shudders against him, saying, “I’ve never seen you in your wolf form before, you’re huge. Such a turn-on.”

Jared can feel them both growing hard between their bodies and he’s hit with a wave of Jensen’s pheromones. But there’s also something else, something Jared’s never smelled before. It’s musky and Jared feels dizzy with lust. 

“Jay,” Jensen says and he sounds a little panicked. “There’s – That’s not – Jared, what’s happening?”

That’s when Jared gets it. He’s never experienced it before, couldn’t, because he’d been an unmated Alpha. But he knows what werewolf sex ed taught them back in high school. Slowly and carefully he brings his fingers to Jensen’s cleft and dips his fingers inside. His mate is slightly wet between his thighs and Jared almost comes right then and there. 

“Jen,” he growls. 

“Jared,” Jensen says loudly. “What the hell is going on?” 

He can feel his mate freaking out. Of course he would, only human women can get wet. “It’s okay, Jen,” he says, trying to stay calm, even though all he wants to do is bend Jensen over the nearest surface and fuck him. “It’s normal.”

Jensen steps away from him, crossing his arms over his chest and Jared bites the inside of his cheek to refrain from grinning. Because Jensen trying to be pissed with a hard-on is just too adorable. 

“This is not normal, Jay. I’m a guy. We don’t,” he stops, motioning to his butt and looking for the right word. 

“Get wet?” Jared finishes the sentence for Jensen, forming it as a question and Jensen nods. “Jen,” he reaches for his mate and Jensen comes reluctantly. “You’re a werewolf now, baby. Things are different. Mated male beta werewolves are able to get wet. Makes things a little easier.”

Jensen wrinkles his forehead in a frown. “But I didn’t before.”

Jared smiles, pressing a kiss to Jensen’s temple. “Well, Doc Beaver said that some things would only happen after you shifted for the first time.”

Jensen pouts and Jared isn’t sure he’s seen anything more adorable than his mate pouting before. “Great, now I’m officially a girl.”

Jared chuckles and Jensen throws him a dark look, which only makes Jared chuckle harder. “Baby, believe me when I tell you that you’re definitely no girl.” He reaches down to grab Jensen’s cock. It’s only half-hard now, but Jared’s sure that won’t be a problem. “Let me show you how much you aren’t a girl.” 

He drops to his knees and hears Jensen gasp when he takes his mate’s cock into his mouth. Sucking gently on the crown, he dips his tongue into the slit. Jensen bucks his hips and his hands come up to entwine in Jared’s hair. With one hand Jared tugs on Jensen’s balls carefully, before pushing his fingers further back, rubbing first over Jensen’s perineum and then over his wet hole. 

The smell is driving Jared crazy and he can’t wait to bury himself deep inside his mate, but before that, he’s going to make Jensen come in his mouth. Pushing two of his fingers inside Jensen’s wet heat, he rubs them over Jensen’s prostate repeatedly and it doesn’t take long for Jensen to come, shooting down Jared’s throat. 

They’re still in his parents’ living room and the sun is now shining in through the glass doors, making Jensen’s skin glow golden. Jared plunges his tongue into Jensen’s mouth and picks him up. He kinda expected some protest, but Jensen just winds his legs around Jared’s hips and lets him carry Jensen upstairs. 

They tumble onto the bed, still kissing and Jared’s cock brushes against Jensen’s hole. 

“Do it, Jay,” Jensen says. “C’mon, this has to be good for something.”

Jared grins, pressing wet kisses against Jensen’s jaw. He lines up and a second later he’s surrounded by wet heat. It’s perfect and Jared pulls back, before pushing back in. Jensen’s writhing beneath him, begging for _harderfastermore_. Jared speeds up his thrusts, feeling Jensen’s ass clench around him. 

The friction is delicious and he feels his knot pushing inside Jensen’s ass. Jensen’s panting his name and when Jared wraps his fingers around his mate’s cock, jerking him hard and fast, he comes with a scream on his lips. 

Jared’s not far behind him, feeling his own orgasm build in his toes. He comes with a muffled cry against Jensen’s neck, pumping his come into Jensen’s ass. Jensen’s legs are still tightly wound around Jared’s hips and he lays his head on Jensen’s shoulder, while waves of pleasure shoot through his body. 

“God, Jay, damnit,” Jensen mumbles against his hair, running his fingers gently over his scalp. “I mean, sex was good before, great even sometimes, but this,” he lets out a heavy breath, “this is going to kill me one day.”

Jared chuckles, shuddering a little when his cock spurts another stream of come into Jensen’s body. “What a way to go.”

“Jared,” Jensen sounds serious and Jared props up on his elbow to look at his mate. 

“Yeah?” 

“Maybe it’s not so bad – being a werewolf I mean.” Jared raises his eyebrows in question and Jensen adds, “Being out there, for the first time in a long time I was feeling alive again. Like I was made for this. I shifted and it didn’t feel weird, not really. It felt like coming home in a way.” He rubs his thumbs gently over Jared’s cheekbones. “I felt how much you love me.” Jared breath hitches in his throat and Jensen brushes his lips against his in a soft kiss. “I love you, too.”

“Jen,” Jared breathes, kissing Jensen again with a little more intent. 

“I want this – us,” Jensen says seriously, breaking away from the kiss. “I never wanted anything so much in my whole life.” Jared rocks his hips and Jensen gasps, “Wanna be yours, Alpha.”

Jared’s heart skips a beat at the word and feels heat pool in his belly, want and lust doubling with the love shining in Jensen’s eyes. 

“Mine, Beta,” he growls and kisses Jensen hard, his tongue pushing into his mate’s mouth, claiming Jensen in every way possible. He rocks his hips, pushing his knot into Jensen’s prostate, and hears his beta groan loudly. Jensen’s cock is hard again between their bellies and Jared grabs it, jerking it hard. “That’s it, baby. Come for me.” They’ve only been together for a little over two weeks but Jared knows exactly what pushes Jensen over the edge the fastest. 

Jensen throws his head back, his back arching towards Jared, and comes with Jared’s name on his lips. It’s the most beautiful thing Jared’s ever seen. 

  


They spend the day in bed, sleeping, making love, sleeping, making love. It’s the best day Jensen’s spent in probably forever. He can feel Jared’s love and devotion in every touch and after last night he finally believes it too. 

He didn’t lie when he told Jared that he’s glad about being a werewolf now. It really felt like coming home. It just isn’t a home he ever dreamed of. 

Back when he still lived with his parents, or even with Ian, he was never good enough, always a step behind. But now, here with Jared lying next to him, whispering soft sweet nothings into his ear, while he makes love to him, Jensen knows that he’s finally found a place where he’s worth something. 

They make it downstairs an hour before the sun goes down and Jensen can already feel the change coming. Jared only rolled his eyes at him when he dressed in a white robe. But Jensen may have no problem with turning into a werewolf, but he really doesn’t need to show his cock to everyone around. He guesses that being a werewolf comes with a little bit of exhibitionism, which clearly wasn’t passed on him when Jared turned him. 

“Guys,” Chad greets them. “I swear to God, from now on I’ll only share a house with you two. So many pheromones flowing freely through the air.”

“Chad, don’t be an ass,” Sophia scolds, before winking at Jensen. “So, I guess you’re a full werewolf now. How does it feel?” Jensen feels his cheeks turn red and Sophia laughs. “You’ll get used to it.” She pulls him into a hug. “How are you really doing, Jen? Everything okay.”

That doesn’t seem to just interest Sophia, because Chad, Jared’s parents and Sarah and Jeff are also looking curiously at him. 

“I’m fine. Last night was incredible, like I’m made for this.”

“Awesome,” Chad says, slapping Jensen’s back. “Well, welcome to the family then.”

Jensen grins. “Thanks.”

“Uncle Jensen,” Laura says, peeking up from where she’s playing with her Barbie. “You promised you’d play with me, but you were gone too fast.”

Jensen kneels down. “Sorry, sweetheart. How about well play when I shift in a little while?”

Laura nods enthusiastically. “Awesome.” Jensen laughs and picks her up, spinning her around. “More,” she squeals and Jensen spins her around a little faster. 

They only stop when Jared grabs Jensen’s arm and points outside. The sun is almost completely gone and Jensen feels the need to change in his body. He sets Laura down and motions for her to follow him, as soon as he strips out of his robe he feels his body changing. Laura shifts too and soon they’re both standing on the back deck looking out over the yard in their wolf forms. 

Jensen growls playfully and Laura yips, jumping down the stairs into the back yard. Waiting a few seconds Jensen’s runs after her, trying to catch her. Soon they’re joined by Jared, Chad and Kyle and the play of tag turns into a free-for-all. It’s been awhile since Jensen’s had that much fun. 

Later he’s lying next to Sophia, who’s still in her human form – too much shifting is bad for the babies apparently – and they’re watching Jared and Chad play fight each other. Laura and Kyle had been put to bed a while ago and Jensen feels fatigue pulling on his own consciousness. He’d been awake all of last night and he’d barely slept during the day, so sleep is finally catching up with him, while he watches Jared and Chad acting like five-year-olds and Sophia combs her fingers gently through his fur. 

  


Jared takes his and Jensen’s bags out to of the trunk of his father’s car and gives Gerry a last wave, before following Jensen up to the front door. 

A few minutes later, he has his mate trapped against the door of their apartment, licking into Jensen’s wet mouth and feeling his cock grow hard against his thigh. One more night of togetherness and then they’ll be back at the hospital and Jared has a meeting tomorrow evening with the Werewolf Council. So, he really wants to make the most of their time alone, before real life will have them back. 

He’s pushing his hands beneath Jensen’s t-shirt, when a loud knock on the door makes them pull apart. Jared wants to tell Jensen to just ignore it, but there’s another knock and then a voice calling, “Seattle Police Department, open the door.”

Jensen looks at him with a frown and Jared shakes his head in confusion, before opening the door. 

“Yeah?” he asks, when he sees four men, two with uniforms and two with black suits, standing in the hallway. “Can I help you?”

“Jared Padalecki?” one of the guys in uniform asks and Jared nods. “You’re arrested for the murder of the human, Jensen Ackles.” 


	10. The Breath You Take 10/?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a world where werewolves and humans live next to each other but haven’t mated in over five-hundred years, Jensen and Jared met, hit it off and became fast friends. Jared, the son of Seattle pack’s alpha, is already very much in love with Jensen – even though he knows there’s no chance for their happily-ever-after – when a night of drunken sex changes everything both of them believed to be true.

  


_“Jared Padalecki? You’re arrested for the murder of the human, Jensen Ackles.“_

The words echo in Jensen’s mind, while he speeds downtown. His fingers are tightly wrapped around the steering wheel and Jensen feels as if he’s gonna lose it if he lets go. Driving is the only thing that’s keeping him together right now. 

_“Call my father and tell him what’s going on, he’ll know what to do.” Jared’s eyes are wide with shock when he looks at Jensen._

“This is stupid!” Jensen argues frantically. “I’m here. I’m alive. Why would they charge Jared with my murder if I’m still alive?” He grabs the arm of the police officer that’s closest to him. “Hey, listen to me, damn it. Jared didn’t kill me.”

The officer looks at him bored. “I’m only doing my job. We were sent here to arrest Jared Padalecki and that’s what we’re doing.” He leads Jared out of the apartment, his hands cuffed behind his back. 

“Jay!” Jensen yells and Jared turns around to face him, he looks shell-shocked. “I’ll call your dad. We’ll get you out of there as soon as possible.”

Jared nods. “I know. I love you.”

Jensen’s heart aches and he wants to wrap Jared up in his arms, tell him that everything’s going to be okay, but they’re taking him away and Jensen feels glued to the spot. “I love you too,” he whispers. He only gets back into motion when he hears the front door to the building slam shut. 

Pulling out his cell, he grabs his wallet and his keys. While he waits for Gerry to answer, he rushes down the stairs and into Jared’s parked car. 

“Jensen?” Gerry asks, surprised. 

“You gotta come back right now.” Jensen fumbles the key into the ignition. “They’ve arrested Jared for my fucking murder.” He starts the car, pulling onto the street and ignoring the angry honks from the other drivers. 

“They what?” Gerry yells. “I’m on my way back. What precinct?”

“57th,” Jensen says. “I’m on my way. I’ll meet you there.”

He hates downtown Seattle; there are never enough parking spaces. He has to drive around the fucking block three times before he finally finds one. Killing the engine, Jensen jumps out of the car and runs across the street and up the stairs leading to the entrance of the police station. 

Pushing open the door, he stops dead in his tracks because Ian’s standing at the end of the hallway, deep in conversation with a guy in a suit. Anger burns in his belly and Jensen wishes he could turn into a wolf on command, just so that he can rip out Ian’s throat. 

He strides over to him, ignoring angry calls for him to stop. Ian raises his eyebrows when he notices Jensen walking in his direction and there’s this stupid smirk on his face that Jensen hates so much. 

“JR, hey…”

He curls his fingers into Ian’s three-hundred-dollar designer shirt and slams Ian into the nearest wall. “What did you do?” he growls. “What the fuck did you do, you fucking asshole?” Hands are pulling at Jensen, but he ignores them. “Talk, or I’ll rip your throat out right here.”

Ian seems genuinely surprised at Jensen’s outburst. “JR, I didn’t know you had it in you,” he says, grinning wickedly. 

“I swear to God, I’ll rip you apart right here if you don’t tell me what you did.”

“Jensen!” Gerry’s strong voice cuts through the haze in Jensen’s mind and maybe it’s the beta wolf in him, but he lets go of Ian slowly. “Son, get away from him. C’mon, you don’t wanna do this.”

Yeah, he really, really does but Gerry doesn’t need to know that.

He takes a step back and Ian runs his hands over his shirt, smoothing out the wrinkles Jensen’s attack left. 

“Now, I’d like to know what’s going on. And where the hell is my son?” Gerry’s booming voice echoes through the hallway and Jensen thinks he sees a few people shrinking away in fear. 

“Sir, I’m Captain Montgomery,” a man in his mid-forties with salt and pepper hair says. “Maybe we can go into my office.”

Gerry nods slowly and they follow Montgomery, Ian and the guy he had been talking to when Jensen had come into the station, into his office. It’s only then that Jensen realizes that Gerry’s not alone. There’s a guy around Jensen’s age, with short dark blond hair and a grim face, right behind them. 

They sit down and Jensen glares at Ian and the guy in the suit, who’s introduced as ADA Boreanaz, while Gerry introduces the guy as Chris Pine, the pack’s lawyer. 

“So, now I’d like to know what’s going on,” Gerry says again. 

“Mr. Cameron and Mr. Boreanaz informed us that Mr. and Mrs. Ackles are pressing charges against Mr. Padalecki for murdering their human son, Jensen Ackles. Judge Masters issued the arrest warrant and I sent over my men to bring Mr. Padalecki into custody.”

“This is bullshit!” Jensen says loudly, barely refraining from punching Ian, the ADA and the captain in the face. “I’m right here and I can tell you I’m very much alive. And besides, my parents have never cared about whether I’m alive or not.”

Captain Montgomery looks pointedly at Ian and the ADA. “Mr. Boreanaz, do you care to explain this?”

“Sir,” Ian says and Jensen really wants to rip Ian’s throat out. He’s never been a violent guy, always trying to avoid a physical fight or if possible, a fight at all. But this is his mate they’re talking about. Ian and his parents had really decided to fuck with the wrong people. “Mr. Ackles might be alive, but he’s not a human anymore. He’s a werewolf. We do not doubt that his heart is still beating, however my clients are mourning the son they lost and they want Mr. Padalecki to pay for what he did. Taking their human son from them.”

“This is complete…,” Jensen starts, but Gerry’s hand on his arm stops him. 

Boreanaz clears his throat. “I might have to add that this ‘changing’ happened without the complete consent of Mr. Jensen Ackles. Isn’t that right?” He looks at Jensen. “Or did you agree to being turned into a werewolf beforehand?”

“What? No, but…” Jensen stutters. 

“Mr. Boreanaz,” Pine interrupts, throwing Jensen a look that tells him to keep his mouth shut and let Pine handle this. “As we all know due to the thorough news coverage, Mr. Ackles’ turning was completely accidental. Besides, Mr. Ackles is right here, alive and breathing,” Pine says. “Even though he was turned into a werewolf, he’s still very much alive.”

“But he’s not human anymore,” Ian says. “My clients are public figures in Dallas, Texas and they can’t accept a werewolf into their family. He’s no longer able to secure continuity of the family line and Mr. Padalecki is responsible for that. ”

There’s a small smile on Pine’s face. “Well, I don’t see how that is Mr. Padalecki’s problem if your clients aren’t able to accept a werewolf as their son. Besides, I’m sure we can get a DNA analysis to show that Mr. Ackles is still very much Mr. Ackles genetically.”

“Mr. Padalecki took a human’s life,” Boreanaz says sternly. “Knowingly or not, he should pay for this and I’ll make sure he will. No one should be allowed to get away with an act like this.”

“But this is…,” Jensen starts, feeling his heart beating frantically in his chest. How can they even think about arresting Jared for giving him a new life, a better life? This is so wrong. Before he can formulate anything he’s thinking, Gerry squeezes his arm and shakes his head a little, telling him to stay silent. 

“You have to understand what shock my clients are in,” Ian adds. “Their human son is dead, turned into this,” he looks at Jensen with disgust, “monster.”

“Now, now,” Captain Montgomery says, holding up his hands. “You might not be too familiar with werewolves in Texas, but we are Mr. Cameron and I assure you that werewolves are not monsters. I, however, have to wait for the judge’s decision as to whether the charges are void or not. So you might want to plead your case there.”

Jensen knows that they’re dismissed and that Jared’s still in jail until the judge decides otherwise. What if the guy hates werewolves? What if he thinks Jensen’s parents are right? He follows Gerry, Chris Pine, Ian and Boreanaz out of the office, to see that his parents – and he feels nauseous just to call them that – are sitting on a bench in the hallway, clearly waiting for Ian and the ADA. 

They look up and Jensen sees the exact moment when they notice him. His father looks disgusted, while his mother breaks down into tears. He walks over to them. 

“How could you do this? Jared did nothing wrong. You disowned me and now you’re pressing charges for murder? What kind of parents are you?” he asks, shaking his head disbelievingly. 

“Our son is dead, somebody should pay for that,” Alan says.

“You declared him dead!” Gerry says. “Your son’s right here, but you’re too bigoted and too narrow-minded to see that.” He shakes his head. “C’mon, Jensen, let’s go and see Jared.”

They walk down the hallway and downstairs to the holding cells. Chris Pine is right behind them, saying, “I’ll go talk to the judge who’s assigned to the case. In my opinion this warrant never should have been issued. I think it might be a good idea to have a DNA analysis show that Jensen’s still Jensen only with a few added chromosomes of werewolf genes. I assume that Doc Beaver took your blood when he first checked you out?” Jensen nods. “Okay, great. And the hospital probably has your blood sample from when you were still human, right?” Jensen nods again. “Good. It might not hurt to get another sample now that your first changing cycle is over. Congrats by the way.” Pine is smiling and Jensen nods. 

“Thanks.”

Jared’s alone in one of the cells and he looks up when he hears them; rushing over to the cell door. He’s wearing a silver collar and Jensen knows enough about werewolves to know that it’s there to weaken Jared, to keep him from changing and attacking the guards. It breaks Jensen’s heart to see his mate like this. 

“So, can I go now?”

“Not yet,” Pine says. “I’ll go and see the judge and plead your case there. I just wanted to tell you to not say anything to anyone, okay. I’ll take care of everything and you’ll be back with us as soon as possible.”

Jared hangs his head and Jensen walks over, threading his fingers through the bars. “Jay, hey. We’re doing what we can to get you out of here ASAP. My parents are crazy and I’m sure the judge will agree when he hears all the facts.”

“Your parents are responsible for this?” Jared asks stunned. 

“And Ian, he’s their lawyer.”

“I can’t believe this shit. I mean you’re right here and you’re heart is beating, why would they say I killed you?” Jared shakes his head. “This is ridiculous.”

“I know,” Jensen says. “But they say I’m not human anymore and therefore their son is dead.”

“JT, just stay put and don’t cause any trouble, okay?” Gerry says. “We’ll get you out of here as soon as we can.”

“Jay, c’mere,” Jensen says and Jared comes closer, hooking his fingers around Jensen’s. “I love you and I’ll make sure my parents drop the charges. I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Love you, too.”

Jensen pulls away his fingers, feeling Gerry’s hand on his shoulder pulling him away. He follows Pine and Gerry upstairs and agrees when Pine offers to take him to a public medical officer to get a new blood sample taken. 

  


Jensen walks down the hallway of the 47th floor of the Hilton on his way to his parents’ suite, the plush carpet swallowing the sounds of his angry footsteps. He knocks and waits a few seconds until Alan opens the door. 

Without waiting for permission he pushes his father away and walks into the suite. 

“Who do you think you are?” his father splutters.

“Clearly nothing to you,” Jensen says and crosses his arms over his chest. “Not that that’s something new.”

“Jensen Ross Ackles,” his mother chides. 

“So now I’m Jensen Ross Ackles, huh?” he huffs. “I thought I was declared dead. I wonder why I’m even bothering trying to talk you out of this. I mean you never cared for me. I was never good enough. And now, when I’m finally happy and mated to the one person made for me, you come here mourning my apparent death. Are you crazy? Did I miss you actually going crazy?”

“You will not talk to us like this,” his father says. “I won’t tolerate it.”

“Yeah? Well, I’ve tolerated you treating me like crap all my life. So, you can listen to me for five friggin’ minutes,” Jensen says and slams his hand down hard on the table. “I knew coming here and asking you to drop the charges won’t do any good because you’re way too interested in the publicity.” His parents look at him, shocked and caught out. “That’s it, isn’t it? Because you couldn’t bear hearing my name being mentioned all over the news without yours next to it. That’s pathetic. But I can tell you, if you continue with these, this trial might not show you in a good light.”

“Are you threatening us?” his mother splutters. 

“I’m giving you good advice.” He sighs. “I fought so hard for your attention and your approval, but it was never enough. Now, I finally have the family I’ve always wanted and they love me, loved me when I was human and they love me now that I’m a werewolf. And I swear to God I will fight for this, for the family and for my mate. You will not stomp on everything I’ve ever wanted, because you want the publicity.”

He turns around on his heels and walks away without looking back. His parents are calling after him, threatening him with Ian and another lawsuit, but he doesn’t care, all he cares about is Jared coming home; being safe again. 

  


The tension in the room is practically palpable and Jensen’s tapping his fingers nervously on his thighs. Gerry is sitting behind his desk, reviewing some files. Jensen wonders if it helps to keep him calm. They’re waiting for Chris Pine and his evaluation of Jared’s case. He had the meeting with the judge and the DA this morning. Jensen hopes that Pine was able to convince the judge that this is all a big misunderstanding and Jared will be free in a few hours. 

There’s a knock on the door and Gerry says, “Come in.”

Chris Pine walks in, giving them both a strained smile. “Alpha. Jensen.”

“Chris. How did it go?”

“It went okay. The Chief Justice assigned Judge Chambers to the case. That’s definitely good news. He’s a judge who doesn’t like his court to be used to cause a media circus. Besides, he won’t accept Boreanaz using this case to push his career in the right direction. From today’s meeting I can already tell that he’s anything but happy about this case. He appointed the first hearing for Thursday at 9 a.m..” Chris sighs. “I had hoped that he would tell Cameron and Boreanaz to stick it where the sun doesn’t shine right away, but I’m sure we’ll be able to make the hearing go our way and that Jared will be free afterwards.”

“I guess that’s something,” Gerry says. 

“Does Jared have to stay looked up until Thursday or can he come home?” Jensen asks, kneading his palm with his thumb. 

“They don’t grant bail on murder charges,” Pine says, a tight smile on his face. “Jared will have to stay in custody until after the hearing.”

Jensen nods and pushes down the need to burst into tears. “Oh, okay. Just please, get Jared out as soon as you can, okay?”

Pine squeezes Jensen’s shoulder. “I’ll do what I can to bring your mate back to you, Jensen,” Chris says, smiling at him. “Let me just deal with this and I promise you, Jared will be home in no time.”

“Thank you.”

  


Jared’s pacing, because it’s all he can do. 

The silver collar slightly burns against his skin; not enough to actually hurt him, but enough to feel a constant irritation. 

It’s been four days. Four days of restless nights and uncertainty. He hasn’t seen Jensen since he was here with Pine and his dad after they first arrested Jared. Pine tells him that he’s not allowed to see Jensen right now, because of the ongoing proceedings. 

It makes Jared itchy. He needs Jensen; needs to touch and feel his mate close to him. Footsteps sound on the stairs and Jared can smell that it’s Chris Pine. He looks at the clock on the wall; it’s time for the hearing. The hearing that’ll decide his life. Pine tells him that he has nothing to worry about, but Jared knows that it’s not true, because if the judge believes only one word of what Boreanaz will tell them today, he’ll be going to prison. 

God, this can’t happen. 

The footsteps come closer and when Chris Pine turns around the corner he’s in the company of two guards. He motions at the door. “Open it.” Smiling at Jared, he asks, “You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” Jared replies and steps out of the holding cell. 

“I promise you that you’ll be home tonight,” Pine says, clapping Jared’s back and leading him upstairs. 

“You’re awfully confident.”

Pine laughs. “That’s because I know how good I am and that this is bullshit.” He turns serious again. “Listen, when we get upstairs there’ll be hordes of reporters waiting for us. Don’t say anything, okay? Leave the talking to me.”

Jared nods. “Okay.”

“The hearing’s going to take place without the media. Judge Chambers has banned them from his courtroom.” Pine winks at Jared and Jared can’t help but smile back.

“Will Jensen be there?”

“Of course. Your parents too.”

Jared nods and takes a deep breath. He can do this. It’ll be okay. They walk out of the police station and Jared lowers his head when the frantic flashes of what feels like thousands of cameras take away his sight for a second. A lot of questions are thrown at them, while Pine pushes him towards the waiting car, questions that make no sense to Jared. He didn’t kill Jensen. Jensen’s still very much alive and breathing.

Half an hour later they walk through the doors of the courthouse and Jared lets out a relieved breath when the doors close behind him, locking out camera flashes and stupid reporters. Somewhere in the crowd Jared thinks he saw his friends, but he can’t be sure. It’s a nice thought that they’re out there, supporting him, though. 

They turn a corner and Jared smiles, relieved when he sees Jensen sitting on a bench next to his parents. His mate looks up and rushes over to him. As soon as he wraps his arms around Jensen’s body, he feels calm again. 

“Hey,” he whispers. 

Jensen looks up. “You okay?”

“I’m fine now. Missed you, though.”

“Missed you, too.”

They kiss softly and are only disturbed by someone calling Jared’s case up. Jensen squeezes his hand and they walk into the courtroom. Jared decidedly ignores Jensen’s parents and Jensen’s ex. They take their places and wait for the judge to step into the room. 

“It’ll be okay,” Pine whispers and Jared gives him a small grateful smile. 

“Ladies and Gentleman, Your Honor Judge Chambers.”

They stand up and only sit down again when Judge Chambers sits behind his desk. Judge Chambers is in his late fifties, with salt and pepper hair and strong but fair eyes. 

“Gentleman,” he says and his voice is deep and rough. “I hope we’ll be able to settle this matter in very little time, because there’re more serious cases I should be working on.”

“Your Honor, we think this a very serious matter that should be discussed in detail,” Boreanaz says and Judge Chambers raises his eyebrows. 

“Mr. Boreanaz, have you finally come up with a way to prove Mr. Jensen Ackles’ death?” he asks, looking at Boreanaz intently. 

“We have a DNA analysis that shows that he’s not human anymore, Your Honor.”

Judge Chambers nods and turns to look at Chris Pine. “Mr. Pine, what about you? Can you prove that Mr. Ackles is still alive?”

“Yes, Your Honor. Jensen Ackles is in this courtroom, alive and breathing. And we have a DNA analysis that shows that he’s still very much Jensen Ackles.”

Judge Chambers cocks his head and says, “Mr. Ackles, would you stand up please?”

Jared turns around and catches the surprised look on Jensen’s face, but he stands up and says, “Yes, Your Honor.”

“Mr. Ackles, are you alive? Does your heart beat?”

“Yes, Sir.”

Judge Chambers nods. “How old are you, Mr. Ackles?”

“Uhm, thirty, Your Honor.”

“I see.”

“Your honor,” Boreanaz says and Judge Chambers slams his fist on his desk. 

“Mr. Boreanaz, I don’t like being interrupted in my own courtroom, as much as I don’t like the law to be ridiculed. I don’t know what you wanted to accomplish with these charges, Mr. Boreanaz. But I can tell you that as long as you can’t hand over hard proof that Mr. Ackles is no longer alive, this case is void.”

“But Your Honor, Mr. Padalecki ended a human life. He should be held to account for that.”

“Mr. Boreanaz, I might agree with you if it were Mr. Jensen Ackles who’d brought the charges. But Mr. Jensen Ackles seems to have accepted his new life and he seems happy with it,” Judge Chambers says, sternly. “That his parents can’t accept his turning, even though their son is alive and healthy, is not Mr. Padalecki’s fault.” He stares at Boreanaz. “Taking this case to trial would be waste of taxes and government capacities.”

“But Your Honor…”

“Enough, Mr. Boreanaz. My courtroom will not be the place for you to progress your career. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, Your Honor,” Boreanaz grits out. 

“Good. Then I guess the hearing is over and we can go back to the cases that really need our attention and devotion,” Judge Chambers says and stands up. “Goodbye.”

Chris Pine ushers Jared up and he stands, asking himself what just happened. Does this mean…? Is he free now? The door to the judge’s chamber closes and Jared turns to Chris. 

With wide eyes he asks, “Am I…?”

“Yeah, you’re free to go,” Chris smiles at him. “Told you we’d win. Congrats.” 

Jared pulls him into a quick hug. “Thanks, Chris.”

“You’re welcome.”

Jared smiles and turns around to see Jensen looking over to where his parents are standing with Ian and Boreanaz. All four have sour looks on their faces and for a second Jared wonders if this is really over, or if Ian or Boreanaz will come up with another ploy to keep him in custody. 

But they don’t even look at him or Jensen when they leave the courtroom and Jared lets out a relieved breath. He smiles at Jensen and pulls him into a tight hug. 

“It’s over.”

“Thank god,” Jensen breathes. “Let’s go home, okay?”

Jared nods, but Chris holds him back for a second. “Before you go I have to tell you something.” He looks at Jensen and gives him an apologetic smile. “Alone.”

“Okay,” Jared nods. “I’ll be right outside, Jen.”

Jensen squeezes his hand and then leaves together with Jared’s parents. 

“What did you want to tell me?” he asks, looking at Chris with a curious frown on his face. 

“Look Jared,” Chris says. “Y’know we did this blood test for Jensen, right?” Jared nods. “Well, there’s something that caught the lab’s attention.” He hands him a small envelope. “I thought it’d be better to tell Jensen yourself.”

Jared opens the envelope and his heart stops. “This… that can’t be right.”

Chris smiles softly and nods. “They checked it three times, Jared. It’s true.”

“But… I didn’t think that…,” Jared lets out a surprised laugh. “Wow.”

“Congratulations, Jared.” Chris claps his shoulder. “So, let’s go and we don’t want to keep your mate waiting too long.”

Jared folds the letter together and puts it in his pocket. “No, we don’t.”

They walk outside and Jared grabs Jensen’s hand, squeezing hard. Jensen smiles at him and warmth flows through Jared’s body at the love and devotion he finds in Jensen’s eyes. 

The reporters are still waiting outside and Jared sees that Boreanaz is giving an interview a few feet away. He could care less about what’s said, though. 

He makes his way through the crowd with Jensen next to him, only to find his friends waiting on the other side of the street. Sophia pulls him into a tight hug, while the guys clap his shoulders. 

“We’re so glad all this got resolved so quickly.”

“Me too,” Jared says and smiles. “Thanks for the support guys.”

“Duh,” Chad says and Jared laughs. 

“So, this deserves a decent party,” Chris says. “ _Kane’s_ , Saturday night, just us and your family. What do you say?”

He looks over at Jensen, who’s grinning broadly. “Sounds awesome.”

  


They make their way to the apartment in silence in the back of Jared’s dad’s car. Jensen’s pushed against Jared’s side and he has his arm tightly wound around Jensen’s shoulders. He presses a soft kiss to Jensen’s hair and his mate looks up, smiling softly. 

His mom and dad tell Jared and Jensen to relax and enjoy the day and that they’ll see each other on Saturday, before Jared and Jensen say goodbye and make their way upstairs. 

Jared unlocks the door, pulling Jensen into the apartment and kicking the door shut. “Jen,” he breathes. “God, I missed you so much.”

“Missed you too,” Jensen whispers, putting his arms around Jared’s neck and pulling him down into a hard kiss. 

Their teeth collide in their haste to get a taste of each other. Jared’s already pulling on Jensen’s clothes, pushing his hands beneath fabric. He sighs when he finally connects with smooth, hot skin. 

“Need you, Jen. Need you so much,” he murmurs. 

“Anything, Jay. Anything you want.” 

The kitchen counter is the nearest place and Jared picks Jensen up and puts him on it. Their crotches connect and rub against each other, while Jared pushes his tongue into Jensen’s mouth, tangling it with Jensen’s. They kiss frantically; biting, sucking, and licking. Jensen’s hands are entangled in Jared’s hair and Jared loves the feeling of Jensen playing with his hair. 

He pops open the button on Jensen’s jeans, pulling them down his hips. His eyes grow wide when he realizes that Jensen’s not wearing underwear. 

“I thought it might be quicker this way,” Jensen says and there’s a blush covering his cheeks. 

“Fuck, Jen, so hot,” Jared growls. “So fucking hot.”

He kisses his way down Jensen’s chest, licking and sucking at each nipple for a little while, before going further down. His kisses get soft when he reaches Jensen’s belly. It looks the same, the same as always, but Jared knows that there’s life growing inside and it makes him so fucking hard. 

“God, Jay,” Jensen moans, when Jared licks around the rim of his bellybutton. “Please, Jay.”

Two of Jared’s fingers make it to Jensen’s hole. It’s wet and practically dripping. Jared pushes inside. It’s wet and hot and so damn perfect, it makes him almost come right then and there. He scissors his fingers, stretching Jensen. 

His mate is writhing against him. “Fuck, Jay. Need you inside me.”

How can Jared resist Jensen begging so sweetly? He lines up and pushes inside. It’s tight, so deliciously tight. The friction is almost driving Jared crazy and he needs to come so bad. He’s barely started fucking Jensen and his knot is already pushing inside his mate’s body. 

“Touch me, Jay. Fucking touch me,” Jensen’s voice is raw and fucked out and sends shivers down his spine.

He wraps his fingers around Jensen’s leaking cock, stroking it hard. He wants Jensen to come right the fuck now. 

“C’mon, baby. Come for me. Wanna see you lose it.”

Jensen throws his head back and his cock jerks in Jared’s hand, painting Jensen’s belly and Jared’s hand white. His eyes are blown wide and his mouth is contorted in a silent scream. He’s beautiful. 

Jared leans down, capturing Jensen’s mouth in a passionate kiss, while his own orgasm washes over him. He’s shaking and thrashing, holding onto Jensen’s body, while pleasure rips through his. 

“That’s it, Jay,” Jensen whispers. “So beautiful when you come.”

As soon as Jared’s able to stand again, he carries them into the bedroom. He’s still inside of Jensen; full and still pumping come into his mate’s body. Jensen combs his fingers gently through his hair, while they catch their breath for round two. They kiss lazily and Jared swears to himself that he’ll never let anything get between them ever again. 

“I love you,” he whispers. “Love you so much.”

“Me too,” Jensen answers, looking at Jared with soft eyes full of love and adoration. “I thought I was going crazy without you here. Could barely sleep without you next to me.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Jared says, pressing a soft kiss to the spot where his mating bite is. He licks his tongue across the skin, feeling the scar against it. Jensen shudders beneath him. “I could stay like this forever, Jen.” He rocks his hips and Jensen gasps. “Could make love to you for hours. Love the noises you make and seeing your face when you come.”

Jensen’s cock is growing hard between their bellies again and Jared runs his thumb over the tip. Jensen bucks his hips, which squeezes Jared’s knot and makes another wave of pleasure wash over him. Slowly, he starts jacking Jensen’s cock, watching his mate intently. 

“You’re so fucking gorgeous, Jen. So fucking hot.”

“Jay,” Jensen whines. “I need, god…”

With slow and deliberate strokes Jared brings Jensen to the edge and then leans down and sucks on his nipples. He now knows why they’re so sensitive. Jensen comes with a hoarse cry. Jared bites lightly into Jensen’s pecs, when he comes again. 

It’s later that night and Jared’s wrapped tightly around his mate, rubbing his thumb gently over Jensen’s belly. He really should tell Jensen the good news, but he knows there’s a freak out to come and he can’t blame Jensen. He’d freak out too, if this were something he never considered possible. 

Jared didn’t think that Jensen would be able to carry pups and he had been okay with that, but that doesn’t mean he hadn’t wished for it secretly. 

“Jen?” he whispers. 

“Uh-huh,” Jensen mumbles. 

“You awake?” 

Jensen turns in his arms and gives him a soft smile. “Just barely.”

Jared swallows. It won’t get easier if he waits to tell Jensen. “I need to tell you something.” Jensen frowns. “Something came up when they did your blood test.”

“Okay,” Jensen says hesitantly. 

“You need to know that only three percent of the male werewolf population is fertile. So this is kind of a miracle.”

“What are you talking about, Jay? What do you mean ‘fertile’?” Jensen pushes up on his elbows and Jared can feel the freak out coming. 

“Jen, please, calm down,” he says softly. “Fertile means that they’re able to get pregnant and carry pups.”

“What does that have to do with me?” Jensen asks baffled. 

“You’re one of them, Jen. You’re pregnant.” Jared looks at him sheepishly, waiting for his words to sink in and for Jensen to finally get it. 

Shit will totally hit the fan again. 


	11. The Breath You Take 11/?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a world where werewolves and humans live next to each other but haven’t mated in over five-hundred years, Jensen and Jared met, hit it off and became fast friends. Jared, the son of Seattle pack’s alpha, is already very much in love with Jensen – even though he knows there’s no chance for their happily-ever-after – when a night of drunken sex changes everything both of them believed to be true.

  


_“You’re pregnant.”_

Jensen blinks, once, twice. “Come again.”

Jared looks at him, chewing nervously on his bottom lip, before saying slowly, “You’re pregnant. We’re… we gonna have pups.”

“Pups?” Jensen asks slowly and Jared nods.

“Yeah, normally it’s more than one.”

“More than one,” Jensen murmurs, rubbing a hand over his face. This is… insane. He shakes his head. “Jay, I know you want kids, but I’m a guy and guys don’t get pregnant. So, whatever you think you know it’s wrong.”

Jared grasps Jensen’s wrists and pulls his hands away from his face. “Jen, you’re a male werewolf and even if it’s rare, some of them are known to carry pups.”

“No!” Jensen says, a little harsher than he intended and Jared recoils a little. But this is stupid. He’s not pregnant. He can’t be. “No, Jay. This is insane. I am not pregnant, Jared.”

Jared gets out of their bed then and pads over to where his pants are lying on the floor. He pulls out an envelope and hands it to Jensen with shaky fingers. 

Jensen grabs it, pulling it open and looks at the piece of paper. There are a lot of numbers and there’s his blood type and then next to the word pregnant stands the little word that tilts his world upside down once more: ‘Positive’. This can’t be right. This… they’ve probably made a mistake.

“They ran the test three times, Jen. It always came up positive.”

“No,” Jensen shakes his head. “No, this is… this can’t be right.” He climbs out of bed, searching for his clothes and pulling them on. 

“Jen, what are you doing? Let’s talk about this, okay,” Jared says desperately. “It’s gonna be okay. I mean, this is a miracle. I never thought…”

Jensen jerks around. “Did you know this could happen?” 

Jared looks at his feet. “No, I mean, yeah, I knew that some male werewolves could get pregnant. But I didn’t think…”

“So you knew there was a possibility that I might be one of them? And you didn’t think about using a condom, or whatever?” Jensen huffs out a breath. “Great, Jay. This is great.” He knows that Jared can hear the sarcasm in his voice. 

“I didn’t think about it, Jen. Okay, sorry, but my head was full with you being my mate and you being turned into a werewolf. Besides it probably would already have been too late.”

“What do you mean?” Jensen demands. 

“I mean, you’ve not even been a werewolf for three weeks, but they can already tell that you’re pregnant. So it had to have happened at our first weekend together.”

Jensen shakes his head. “I can’t deal with this right now, Jared. I need to… breathe.” He walks into the living room, hearing Jared’s footsteps following him. Grabbing his wallet, he turns back to face Jared. His mate looks like he’s lost just about everything that was ever dear to him and it breaks Jensen’s heart, but he has to get out of here; has to think. “Don’t wait up.”

“Jensen, no,” Jared begs and his fingers wrap around Jensen’s wrist. “Please, stay. We’ll figure it out together.”

Jensen pulls his arm out of Jared’s grasp. “I’m sorry, Jared. But I need some time to myself.”

He walks out into the hallway and hears the door close behind him. Jared let him go. He doesn’t know what to think of that. A part of him wishes Jared would have made him stay, but he knows Jared wouldn’t abuse his power like that. 

It’s cold and Jensen pulls his jacket tighter around him while he makes his way down the street. It’s dark and it’s one of those rare nights when you can see the stars. He looks up, waiting for a sign – something, anything – to tell him that everything will be all right. But there’s nothing, of course there isn’t. 

Three weeks ago he was telling himself that he didn’t want Jared; that Jared would never want him because he couldn’t give Jared what he wanted. And now he’s here, a werewolf, a mate and apparently pregnant. 

He tries to wrap his head around the fact that there’s life growing inside of him – he can’t. This is such a foreign concept to Jensen that he can’t understand how that even works. Men don’t get pregnant. They just don’t. 

He doesn’t realize it until he’s standing in front of the door, but his walk took him to _Kane’s_. Of course it did. This has always been some kind of sanctuary for Jensen. He doesn’t know how many nights he’s sat at the bar brooding while Chris flirted with the customers and Steve was singing in the background.

The lights are on and Jensen pushes the door open, warm air greeting him. Chris had been sick of hiding and had opened ‘Kane’s’ to the public again on Monday. So far things had been good, no more trouble. Jensen shuffles inside, there’re not many patrons there tonight and Jensen’s glad. He shucks out of his jacket and puts it over an empty barstool. He sits down and that’s when Chris notices him. 

“Jenny!” he yells across the bar, finishing the order he’s just working on and then walking over to Jensen. “Dude, I didn’t expect to see you here tonight. I mean Jared’s a free man again, that’s why we’re having a kick-ass party on Saturday night, right?”

Jensen nods. “Yeah.” He looks up and forces a smile on his face. “Hey, give me a double scotch, okay?”

Chris frowns. “What’s wrong, Jen?”

“Nothing,” Jensen grits out. “Just give me that damn scotch, will you?”

Maybe Jensen should be surprised that Chris lets it go so easily, but right then he’s just grateful for it. A second later there’s a glass standing in front of him filled with two fingers width of golden, brown liquid. He picks it up, swirling the liquid around. It smells of alcohol and Jensen knows that if he drinks it, it would burn down his throat and warm his belly. 

He doesn’t know how long he sits there staring at his drink before Steve sits down next to him and nudges his shoulder. 

“You wanna tell us what has you brooding like this?”

Jensen shrugs, but stays silent. 

“Jen, Steve’s right. How about you finish your drink and then you tell us what’s wrong?” Chris says. 

The golden liquid swishes in the glass when Jensen swirls it around. It’s mesmerizing. Slowly he puts the glass down and looks up at his friends. 

“I’m pregnant.”

Their eyes grow wide and then Chris starts laughing. “Yeah, right. C’mon tell us the truth.”

Jensen pulls out the piece of paper he grabbed at home and pushes it towards Steve. “I’m not lying.”

“Oh my god, Jen,” Steve says stunned. “This is…” He shakes his head and pushes the paper over to Chris. 

Jensen can see the moment Chris reads the part where the ‘Positive’ stands, his eyes threatening to pop out of his skull. 

“This is… this can’t be right. I mean they must have done something wrong. Guys don’t get pregnant.”

“Male werewolves do, apparently,” Jensen says. “Not all of them but a few.”

“Holy shit,” Chris breathes and grabs the glass of scotch out of Jensen’s hands.

“Hey!” he protests. 

“You’re not drinking that, Jen. Not when you’re pregnant,” Chris says. “You can have OJ or a soda. Water would probably be best though.”

Jensen frowns. “Does this not freak you out? I mean, I’m a guy and there’s something,” he lowers his voice, “growing inside of me.”

“Well,” Chris sighs. “I’ve seen some freaky shit over the last couple of weeks, so what’s a male pregnancy? That doesn’t mean I won’t kick Jared’s ass for knocking you up. I mean, what the hell, you’re not even been together for three weeks.”

Jensen snorts and shakes his head. “You’re weird, man.” He shoots Steve a look. “How do you stand him 24/7?”

Steve laughs. “He’s not that bad.” When he grows serious again, he nudges Jensen’s elbow. “So, pregnant, huh? I always knew you were special, Jen.”

Jensen chuckles a little. “Shut up. I don’t know how to deal with this. I never even wanted kids. Having a big ass family was always Jared’s dream.”

“Uh-huh,” Chris says and Jensen can hear the sarcasm in his voice. “I remember a time when you told me about wanting to adopt maybe one or two kids one day.”

Jensen remembers it too. It was when he still was with Ian. He really had thought Ian might want that, to have kids with him. 

“This is different,” Jensen sighs. “Hey, didn’t you say something about soda?” Chris rolls his eyes and pulls a can out of the fridge, putting it in front of Jensen. “Thanks.”

“Jen, I know this is weird,” Steve says. “Hell, I probably won’t really believe it until I see your belly swell. But maybe that’s God’s way of giving you what you want. I mean you’ve been miserable for a long time, so it had to stop one day.”

“I haven’t been miserable,” Jensen says and both, Steve and Chris, raise their eyebrows at him. “Okay, maybe a little.”

“Not that I don’t get it,” Chris says. “First, that douche Ian and then you fall in love with Jared, knowing that you couldn’t ever have him. It must have sucked. But Steve’s right, Jen. You’re here and you’re mated to Jared and so someone upstairs apparently likes you enough to think you deserve to be happy, which I can only agree with.”

Jensen huffs out a laugh. “Are you drunk?” He shakes his head. “I never thought my life would turn into this thing I don’t even recognize.”

“I think everything’ll be alright,” Steve says. 

“Let’s hope so, for goodness sakes,” Jensen sighs. “Can I crash at your place tonight?”

Chris frowns. “Don’t you want to go back to Jared, Jen?”

“I’ll go back tomorrow, but I really need some time to think.”

“Well, you know where the spare key is,” Chris says. “At least let Jared know that you’ll be back tomorrow.”

  


Jensen’s not gone for two seconds, when Jared slams his fist against the door angrily. This is all shit. But what did he expect? Did he really think that Jensen would just accept that he’s pregnant? Of course not. 

Jared tries to imagine it would feel like if someone were to tell him that he was pregnant. This is such a foreign concept that he can’t really wrap his head around it. He’s never seen a pregnant male werewolf himself, there are no male werewolves in his pack who can carry pups, except Jensen. Of course this is going to freak his mate out. 

He gets dressed and then writes a short note for Jensen, so he’ll know where Jared’s gone. Grabbing his keys and wallet, he pulls the door to their apartment closed.

He drives the short distance to Chad and Sophia’s apartment, hoping they’re still awake. Light’s shining through the curtains when Jared gets there and he lets out a relieved breath. He would have hated to wake his friends up, just because he needs some company. 

Chad looks at Jared in surprise, when he opens the door. “What’re you doing here? I thought you and Jensen would be doing the horizontal tango all night.”

Jared shakes his head and pushes past Chad. “Jensen’s pregnant and he’s gone, probably with Chris and Steve.”

“Wait, what?” Chad asks. “Jensen’s pregnant? How? When?”

Jared sighs. “I’m sure you can figure out the logistics yourself, Chad.” He walks into the living room to find Sophia curled up on the couch. 

She looks at him with a surprised smile. “Well, I wouldn’t have expected you here tonight.”

Letting out a deep breath, Jared drops to the couch next to her. She looks at him with concern and then looks up at her mate. 

“Jensen’s pregnant,” Chad says. “Beer, Jay?” Jared nods. 

“Wow, that’s… wow,” Sophia says. “How’s he coping?”

Jared snorts. “He ran. Of course, he did. That’s his coping mechanism.”

“He’ll come around, dude.” Chad pushes a cold bottle of beer into Jared’s hand and sits down where Sophia made space for him behind her, pulling her into his arms. His hand comes resting on Sophia’s swollen belly and Jared swallows hard, wondering if he and Jensen will ever be like this. 

“He’s freaked out, Chad,” Jared says. “And I can’t even blame him. Human guys can’t get pregnant.”

“Well, he’s a werewolf now,” Chad says. “And it may be rare, but male werewolves can carry pups.”

“I told him that, but,” Jared shakes his head. “Let’s just say, it didn’t do anything good.”

“Jay,” Sophia says softly. “He’ll come around. Of course this is scary, but he loves you and he’ll love the pups.”

“I really hope so,” Jared sighs. His phone buzzes in his pocket and he takes it out and flips it open. It’s a text from Jensen. 

_I’ll be staying with Chris and Steve tonight. I’ll be back tomorrow. I love you._

Well, Jared guesses it’s something. He looks over at his friends. “You think I can stay the night? I can’t stand an empty apartment right now.”

  


Jensen had barely slept during the night, rolling around, his mind racing from one thought to the other. He’s pregnant. There’s a baby growing inside of him. This is… God this is insane, but it’s true. He can feel it’s true. 

At seven in the morning he can’t bear staying in bed any longer and he pads out of Chris and Steve’s spare bedroom into the living room. He fires up their PC and walks into the kitchen to make some coffee while the thing boots up. He looks out of the window while he waits for the coffee to be ready. It’s still mostly dark outside and people are hurrying down the street to work or wherever they need to be.

When the coffee is ready, Jensen pours himself a cup and walks back into the living room. He opens Google and types in ‘male werewolf pregnancy’, there are around 50,000 entries and Jensen looks at the number, stunned. He never thought there would be so many entries regarding the topic. 

He clicks on the first link and starts reading. 

Around eleven a.m. Steve and Chris get up. They both scold him for having coffee and Chris pulls the mug out of Jensen’s hands, replacing it with a glass of OJ. Steve even makes him a real breakfast, consisting of fresh fruit and pancakes, while Chris grumbles that Steve never does anything like that for him. 

It’s after noon, when his cell buzzes and Jensen finally takes of his eyes off the computer screen. They’re burning a little and he rubs them, before answering the call. 

“Hello?”

“Dr. Jensen Ackles? This is Dr. Armory, Seattle General Hospital.”

Dr. Armory is one of the members on the executive board of the hospital, he’s also a werewolf, and Jensen wonders what he might want. “Yeah, this is Jensen Ackles.”

“I’m sure you have your hands full right now, but I was wondering if you’d be able to come in and meet with me. I have a proposition for you.”

“Okay,” Jensen says hesitantly. “I can be there in an hour.”

“Great. I’ll see you in an hour then.”

Jensen disconnects the call and puts his cell down. What just happened? Why would Armory want to talk to him?

“Jen, what’s going on?”

“One of the members on the executive board at the hospital wants to talk to me, apparently he has a proposition for me.”

Chris frowns. “What proposition?”

Jensen shrugs. “Guess I’ll find out in an hour.”

  


His footsteps echo on the linoleum as he makes his way to Dr. Armory’s office. He heard on the news that there was a really bad pileup on the freeway and he knows that Jared’s somewhere in the hospital, trying to save lives. He wishes he could just tell Jared to come up here and go to the meeting with him. He misses his mate; misses Jared’s easy smile and his dimples; misses his hand on Jensen’s lower back for support; misses Jared’s breath ghosting over Jensen’s skin when he whispers ‘I love you’ into Jensen’s ear. 

He’s pathetic. It’s not even a whole day since he saw Jared last.

Callie, Dr. Armory’s secretary, waves Jensen right on through, when he gets to the office. He knocks carefully and walks inside when he hears Dr. Armory calling ‘Come in’.

“Dr. Armory. I’m Jensen Ackles.”

Dr. Armory is a middle-aged, bald man with an easy smile on his face. “Jensen – I can call you Jensen, right?” Jensen nods. “Great. So, it’s really nice to meet you in person. I’ve heard a lot about you in the past.”

Jensen raises his eyebrows and says, “Only good things, I hope.”

“Really good things,” Armory says. “Eric has been full of praise for your work – with the patients and with the research.”

“Ehm, thanks.”

Armory grins, before he gets serious again. “Listen Jensen, I’m sure you’re going through a lot right now. I couldn’t imagine what it’s like to get my life turned upside down like this. But I’ve also talked to the Alpha yesterday and he told me that you’re coping really well.”

“He did?” Jensen asks and sighs. “Well, I try my best.”

Armory chuckles. “I’m sure Jared’s helping. He’s a fine young Alpha.”

“He is,” Jensen agrees. “But with all due respect, why am I here? I’m sure you don’t want to talk about me getting turned into werewolf, right?”

“No,” Armory shakes his head. “Even though I want you to know that I’ll have your back. Someone gives you trouble, you come to me, okay?”

Jensen frowns. “Okay.”

“So, I’m sure you’ve heard that the executive board decided to divide the hospital into two areas, one for humans and one for werewolves.”

“Yes, Sir. I’ve heard.”

“Good. So, now that Eric is appointed to the human physical therapy department, we’re lacking someone to run the werewolf department. I was thinking you might be interested.”

“What?” Jensen splutters. “You want me to run the werewolf physical therapy department?”

“Yes,” Armory nods. “I think you’re very well qualified for it.”

“But I’ve…”

“Jensen, if you’re saying you can’t because your life is changing and you need some time I understand, I do. But if you’re trying to refuse because you think you’re not the right guy then I’m telling you that I think – no, I know – you’re the right guy.”

“I don’t even have the additional training werewolves need.”

“Yeah, I thought about that too. I can appoint someone to train you, while you already work as head of the department. You wouldn’t be able to practice until you completed the training, but after that, you can take cases yourself again. What do you think?”

“I don’t…,” Jensen’s head is spinning. This was what he’s always wished for. Wow… but there’s something else. “I’m pregnant.”

Armory looks at him for a long while, before nodding. “Congratulations. That’s really amazing. I still think you’re the best fit for this job, though. But if you think you can’t do it because of health problems.”

“No, I’m feeling fine,” Jensen rushes to say. “We haven’t told anyone, but I just thought you should know.”

Armory smiles. “Well, your secret’s safe with me. So you’ll take the job?”

Jensen nods and smiles back. “Yeah, I’ll take the job.”

  


Jared’s day sucks. There’s been this horrible crash on the freeway and with the new hospital policy of keeping humans and werewolves apart, there’s just chaos. Nobody knows anything and Jared’s been sent from one end of the ER to the other more times than he could count and still hadn’t done anything. 

Until the little girl came in. 

He shudders just thinking of her, while he pulls off his bloody gloves and walks into the nearest bathroom. The mirror tells him that he looks like shit; at least he looks exactly how he feels. There’re dark circles around his eyes and his skin is pale. He needs Jensen; needs him to make it all better. He knows that his mate said he’d be home tonight and Jared sends a prayer upstairs that it’s true. 

“She’s going to be okay.” Jared spins around and sees Chad standing in the doorway. “Meyers’ says she’ll be fine.” Julia Meyers is their new attending and Jared hopes she’s right.

“Good. I’m going home.”

Chad nods. “Sure, tell Jensen ‘hi’.”

Jared doesn’t bother replying; he just makes his way to their locker room, grabs his things and drives home. There’s light shining through their windows and Jared lets out a relieved breath. He makes his way up, taking two stairs at a time. 

He unlocks their apartment door and walks inside. The living room is empty, but Jensen’s bedroom door is left ajar and Jared walks over, pushing it open. 

Jensen doesn’t seem to notice him, because he just standing in front of the mirror with his back to Jared and staring at his big belly. He must have pushed a pillow or something beneath his hoodie. He’s rubbing his hand over the curve and Jared’s breath hitches in his throat. The noise seems to pull Jensen out of his thoughts because he looks up and meets Jared’s eyes in the mirror. 

“This is what I’ll look like in a few months,” he says. “You sure you want that? I mean I’ll be fat and ugly and probably moody.”

A sob escapes Jared’s lips and he walks over to his mate, wrapping his arms around Jensen from behind and burying his face in the crook of Jensen’s neck. His hands come up to rest on top of Jensen’s on his fake belly. 

“Jay, you okay?” Jensen asks softly and Jared nods. 

“I love you. I love you so much it hurts sometimes,” he murmurs against Jensen’s skin, before looking up and locking eyes with Jensen through the mirror. “Besides, you can never be ugly. You’re carrying my pups. I’ll always think you’re beautiful.”

Jensen leans back against him, resting his head on Jared’s shoulder. “I still can’t believe it. I mean I know it’s true, but I have a hard time imagining that there’s a baby growing inside of me.”

Jared pulls away the pillow stuck under Jensen’s hoodie and places his hand flat on Jensen’s exposed belly. “It’s a miracle.”

Their lips meet in a sweet kiss and Jared feels the stress of the day fall off of him. 


	12. The Breath You Take 12/?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a world where werewolves and humans live next to each other but haven’t mated in over five-hundred years, Jensen and Jared met, hit it off and became fast friends. Jared, the son of Seattle pack’s alpha, is already very much in love with Jensen – even though he knows there’s no chance for their happily-ever-after – when a night of drunken sex changes everything both of them believed to be true.

  


Jared sits in his father’s office at the Werewolf Council, waiting for him to finish his phone call with the New York pack Alpha, Mitch Pileggi. They have a pack meeting in half an hour and Jared wants to tell his father about Jensen’s pregnancy beforehand, because they have to decide how to handle this information. 

Even though Jared wants to make an official announcement, it might not be the best way to let the public know about a recently turned male human being pregnant. The media might have calmed down a little after Judge Chambers dismissed Jared’s case as nonsense, but they’re still alert to anything that might come from their corner, and Jared’s sure that the news of Jensen carrying pups will fire up the discussion once again. 

A small smile appears on Jared’s face when he thinks about Jensen having his pups. Last night they had been lying in bed and Jared had run his fingertips over Jensen’s flat belly, completely in awe knowing that there’s new life growing inside of his mate – life they made together. 

“Sorry it took me so long, JT,” his dad says, pulling him out of his thoughts and he looks up. 

“It’s okay. How’s the werewolf that was attacked?” 

“They’ll be releasing him on Monday. Once his broken leg is healed, he’ll be as good as new.”

“That’s good. I’m glad.”

The Alpha nods. “Yes. So, what did you want to talk to me about before the pack meeting?”

Jared takes a deep breath and leans forward in his chair. “Jensen’s pregnant. We found out a couple of days ago, from the blood test Chris Pine ordered.”

His father is staring at him in silence and Jared starts squirming in his chair, because the intense look on the Alpha’s face is making him nervous. 

“Well, that’s something I honestly didn’t expect,” his father says slowly. “How’s Jensen taking this?”

“He had a little freak out when I told him, but when I came home last night, he seemed to have accepted the fact that he’s carrying pups. I mean, it’s still something we need to wrap our heads around, but I think he’ll be okay, we’ll be okay.”

Gerry nods. “That’s… good.” A smile forms on his face. “I have to admit that I never thought you’d give me grandchildren, because the chances of finding a fertile male werewolf as a mate are so small.”

“Me neither, Dad,” Jared admits. “I mean, I dreamt about it, but I never believed it to be possible. It’s pretty awesome.”

His father chuckles. “That it is.” He gets up from his chair and walks around the desk, pulling Jared from his chair and wrapping him up in a tight hug. “Congratulations, son. This is amazing.”

“Thanks, Dad.” Jared smiles, before he turns serious again. “But what about the public, Dad? How do you think they’ll react when they find out that Jensen’s carrying pups?”

Gerry sighs and takes a step back, leaning against this desk. “Let me deal with the public, JT.”

“Dad…”

“No, JT. I’ll deal with them,” Gerry says and Jared knows an order when he hears one. He’s supposed to stay out of this. 

“With all due respect, Alpha, we’re talking about my mate,” he says. “I wanna know what you’re planning.”

The Alpha crosses his arms over his chest. “JT, take care of Jensen and leave the politics to me. I know you’re going to be Alpha one day, but right now, this is still my duty and I will take care of it.”

“But…”

“No!” his dad says forcefully and Jared feels his inner Alpha roar with anger. 

He could challenge his dad for the Alpha post right here and now. It might not be smart, but he could do it. The wolf inside of him is egging him on to show his dad who he’s talking to; that no one talks to a future pack Alpha like this. But his human side tells him that the Alpha is right and he needs to take care of his Beta. 

“JT,” his father says. “It’s time to meet with the Council. Let me take the lead.”

Jared nods, burying his anger deep inside, and says, “Of course, Alpha.”

  


Jensen’s pacing. Jared left a little while ago for a meeting with the Werewolf Council and to tell his dad about the pregnancy. 

The pregnancy. 

The fact that there’s a living werewolf growing inside of him still makes his head spin. His belly is still completely flat and Jensen pushes his t-shirt up, running his fingertips over the smooth, muscled skin. It tickles a little and goose bumps appear on his skin. 

He wonders if the baby – holy shit, a baby – is able to feel it too. 

On Monday he has an appointment with Doc Beaver, who was just as surprised to hear that Jensen’s pregnant as everyone else they’ve told so far. Just the thought of Doc Beaver prodding and poking at him makes him nervous. Will he be able to see the baby then?

The baby, singular, because one is already too much for Jensen to wrap his head around, no way will he be able to deal with two or more pups growing inside of him. 

A knock on the door pulls Jensen out of his thoughts and he makes his way over. Sophia is standing in the hallway, smiling softly at him. 

“Hey you, how’re you doing?”

Jensen gives her a shaky smile. “I’m okay.”

“Liar,” she says fondly and pulls him into a hug. “I hope you’ll be okay, though.”

Jensen sighs and walks back into the living room with Sophia following him. “I’m… this is… It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that there’s a baby growing inside of me.”

Sophia nods. “Yeah, I can imagine.” Jensen frowns and she laughs. “Just because I knew I was going to have pups at one point in my life, doesn’t mean that I wasn’t shocked when I found out. I mean, I was thrilled too, but it took me a while to really believe that I was pregnant.”

“When did you believe that you were pregnant?”

“When I saw the pups on the ultrasound for the first time and heard their hearts beating. That was amazing.” She smiles softly at him. “But you’ll experience that for yourself and you’ll understand.”

Jensen sighs. “I have an appointment with Doc Beaver on Monday. Don’t really know what to expect y’know?”

“Well, I guess he’ll refer to you to an expert on male pregnancies, or at least to one that deals primarily with werewolf pregnancies,” Sophia says. “It’s pretty early, so you probably won’t be able to see the baby or babies on the ultrasound just yet. He’ll be able to help you with the prenatal care, though. Give you vitamins and see that your blood pressure isn’t too high, until a specialist will be able to take a look.”

“I’m nervous, Soph. What if something happens? What if my body isn’t made for carrying pups?”

Sophia laughs a little. “I’m sure you don’t need to worry about that. You’re pregnant. I’m sure that means your body is perfectly equipped to give birth.”

Jensen shudders. “Give birth? I… shit, I haven’t even thought of that.”

“Hey,” Sophia cups his face between her hands. “You have time to figure it all out and you’re not alone in this. Believe me, I’m really nervous about giving birth.”

Jensen raises his eyebrows in surprise. “You are?”

“Of course. It’s something I’ve never done before and I know it’ll hurt – and I’m not big on pain,” she chuckles. “But I guess it’ll be worth it. At least I hope so.”

Jensen nods, looking down at Sophia’s big belly. He lays a hand on it and feels one of the babies kick. “I’m sure it’ll be worth it,” he says convincingly. 

Sophia beams at him. “Yeah, I think you’re right.” She lays her head on his shoulder. “I’m sure you’ll be okay too.”

“I really hope you’re right,” Jensen whispers, laying a hand on his flat belly. 

  


Jared walks into Jensen and his apartment a few hours later, hearing Jensen and Sophia talking in the living room. 

The meeting with the Council had given him a headache and all he wants to do is lie down and take a nap. The Council had decided to keep the pregnancy from the public at least for a couple of months, because it would only cause more conflict. 

Jared isn’t sure what the right way is, because it’ll cause a commotion no matter when they announce the pregnancy. They could have just announced it right away and dealt with the fallout now. But his father is the Alpha and the Council is pretty much known to agree with everything the Alpha suggests. 

“Jay?” Jensen calls and Jared makes his way to the living room. 

“Hey,” he says, feeling bone tired. He leans down and presses quick kiss to Jensen’s temple. “I’m going to take a nap.” He smiles at Sophia. “I’ll see you tonight, okay.”

Sophia nods and Jared makes his way into the bedroom, closing the door behind him. He falls onto the bed and presses the heels of his hands against his temples. The pressure helps a little and he dozes off, only jerking awake when he feels gentle fingers combing through his hair. 

“How’re you feeling?”

Jared shrugs. “Like I don’t want to ever do what my dad’s doing.”

Jensen chuckles. “You’ll be an awesome pack Alpha.”

“All those stupid politics gave me a raging headache. Also, the Council decided that they’re going to keep the pregnancy secret from the public for now. I’m not sure that’s the right way to go. I mean, I’d be pissed if they’d kept something from me. But then again, I’m glad that we won’t be the main news story for a while.”

A soft kiss is pressed to his nape. “I’m sure your dad knows what he’s doing. He’s been the Alpha for some years now.”

Jared sighs, relishing the warmth of Jensen’s hands beneath his shirt. “He probably does. I still don’t know if I agree with him.”

Jensen pushes his shirt up and presses soft kisses along his spine. “That’s the Alpha in you talking. Deep down, you know that your dad’s doing what’s best for the pack.”

Clever fingers are digging into tense muscles, loosening the knots, and Jared groans softly, “I’m just afraid that he made the wrong decision today.”

“Jay, you know what’ll happen if we announce the pregnancy,” Jensen says, between kissing his way down to Jared’s lower back. “I think it’ll be nice to have a few weeks where it’s just us, without the media sitting on our doorstep.”

Jensen’s fingers find their way beneath Jared’s hips, fumbling with the buttons of his jeans, before pulling them down. He kneads Jared’s butt cheeks through the fabric of his boxer briefs and then hooks his fingers into the waistband, pulling them down. 

“Jen, what’re you…”

“Shh,” Jensen whispers. “I just wanna make you feel good.”

And Jared’s feeling real good. His headache is almost gone and he can smell Jensen’s arousal. It makes his dick twitch against the sheets. Jensen massages his thighs and Jared feels the tension falling away bit by bit. 

“Turn around,” Jensen whispers and Jared complies, shrugging off his shirt in the process. 

Jensen’s still fully clothed and Jared licks his lips at the way Jensen’s cock is tenting his pants. He reaches out and pulls Jensen’s shirt over his head, before pulling his mate down into a gentle kiss. Their tongues touch and Jared moans at Jensen’s taste. His smell is getting more intense and Jared needs to get inside of him. Jensen seems to have a different idea though, because he pulls away from the kiss and leans down, taking Jared’s dick into his mouth. 

It’s warm and wet and perfect and Jared bucks his hips, his hands resting on the back of Jensen’s head. Vibrations shoot through his body when Jensen moans around his dick. 

“Shit, Jen… your mouth…” Jared can feel his knot swell way too soon, and he pulls Jensen’s head away. “I need to…”

Jensen nods. “Yeah, anything you need.” He shucks out of his pants and then he’s straddling Jared’s hips. “Wanna ride you, Jay.”

Jared’s eyes roll back into his head. “Fuck, please…” 

Jensen takes his hand then brings it between his legs. “C’mon, Jay. Make me ready for your cock.”

Two of his fingers sink into the tight wet heat of Jensen’s body. His mate is dripping and Jared feels dizzy because of the smell that surrounds him - so sweet and entirely Jensen. He stretches his fingers, rubbing along the sensitive walls of Jensen’s insides, before tapping against his prostate and making him scream. 

“Fuck, Jay… need you, need your knot… c’mon I’m ready, fuck me…” 

Jared grins and pulls his fingers out of Jensen’s ass. He lines up his cock and Jensen sinks down on it, taking it inch by inch without even batting an eye. As soon as Jared bottoms out, Jensen starts swiveling his hips, tightening and releasing the muscles that are holding Jared’s cock prisoner in the process. 

It’s sweet torture and Jared knows that it won’t be long before his knot will push inside Jensen, stretching him wide and filling him with come. He wraps his fingers around Jensen’s leaking cock and strokes it lazily. 

“Jay,” Jensen whines. “Need more…”

He starts jerking Jensen in earnest, when he feels his knot pushing inside his mate’s body. Jensen throws his head back, rocking his hips back and forth. His eyes are blown wide and he comes with a shout, painting Jared’s hand and belly white. Jared brings his hand to Jensen’s mouth and he feels his orgasm rip through his body when Jensen licks his fingers clean of his come. 

After they both come down from their first high, Jared pulls Jensen forward, so that his head is placed on Jared’s shoulder. 

“I love you,” he whispers. 

“Hmm,” Jensen moans softly. “I called Doc Beaver. He promised to see me on Monday afternoon.”

Jared combs his fingers through Jensen’s hair. “Us, baby. You don’t think I’ll let you go to this appointment alone, right?”

Jensen looks up and smiles. “Us, then.”

  


_Kane’s_ is closed to the public that night and Jensen thinks it’s nice to have the bar filled only with their family and friends. 

He’s leaning against the counter, one hand holding onto a bottle of water that Chris had pushed into his hand as soon as he and Jared had walked inside. His other hand is lying on his flat stomach. He had always wondered whether Sophia, touching her belly constantly, was something she did consciously. He now knows that it wasn’t, because he finds himself more often than not touching his own belly unconsciously, as if he wants to protect the baby from all the harm in the world. 

“Hey, Daddy.”

Jensen rolls his eyes when Chris bumps his hip. “Fuck off,” he shoots back without heat in his voice. 

Chris laughs loudly. “Now, you really need to censor whatever you’re going to say when the baby’s born.”

Jensen snorts. “It’s more like I need to keep the baby away from you or who knows what new words he’ll come home with.”

“Hey,” Chris protests. “I’m gonna be an awesome uncle.”

“I know,” Jensen says and smiles a little. “You and Steve are totally in the top five of our babysitting list.”

Chris grins smugly. “I knew it.”

Jensen shakes his head fondly at his friend, when a warm hand lands on his shoulder and he turns around to see Jared holding a plate with cold beef and potato salad out for him. Sherri and Sophia had taken care of the food tonight and it looks delicious. 

“Thanks.”

Jared leans down to press a soft kiss to his temple. “You’re welcome.”

“Aww, you two are too adorable,” Chris drawls and Jensen punches his friend’s shoulder, sticking out his tongue at him. 

“Why don’t you go find your better half, asshole?” Jared asks, grinning. 

“Very good idea,” Chris says. “He might have saved something to eat for me.” 

He leaves them to it and Jared wraps his arms around Jensen’s chest from behind, laying his hands on his flat belly. 

“You feeling okay?”

Jensen nods. “I’m fine.” He takes a bite of his dinner and moans when the taste explodes across his tongue. “Your mom makes the best potato salad ever.”

“Well, thanks my dear.”

Sherry comes up to them, patting Jensen’s cheek. “I’m so happy for you. Those pups will be gorgeous for sure.”

“Pup,” Jensen corrects. “Until I hear anything different, it’s only one in here.” He pats Jared’s hand lying on his belly. 

Sherry laughs. “That’s okay. I’m happy either way. And if there’s anything – and I mean anything – you need, you tell me, okay?”

“Thanks,” Jensen says and smiles. “That’s really sweet of you. It still feels a little surreal, y’know?”

“Yeah, I know. It’ll feel more real when you start showing. I remember being pregnant with Jeff and I couldn’t really believe it until I could see that he was really in there.”

“We have an appointment with Doc Beaver on Monday,” Jared says. “Maybe we’ll be able to see the pups.” 

Jensen rolls his eyes at Jared’s relentlessness that he’s carrying at least two pups and shakes his head fondly. 

“It’s a little early, honey,” Sherri says. “Jensen’s only in his fourth week. I guess you’ll have to wait a little longer to meet this little one.”

Jensen looks up and sees Jared pouting a little. “Aww, honey. Don’t pout.”

“I’m not pouting,” Jared denies, even though he clearly is. “I just really wanna see them.”

His mom pats his arm. “There’ll be plenty of times to see him or her in the future. And just imagine what it’ll be like after he or she is born.”

Jared beams. “I can’t wait.”

Jensen smiles a little, but doesn’t say anything. The birth is still so far away and honestly, it’s nothing he wants to think about right now. It freaks him out to think about how he’ll have to give birth. He’s seen all kinds of stories on TV and they make him shudder and turn his stomach upside down, just thinking about them. 

Sophia walks up to them and she’s the only one that seems to realize that Jensen’s a little green around the gills. She nudges his shoulder and pulls him away from Jared. “You wanna get out of here for a few moments? Take a breather?”

“Yeah, that’d be great.” He kisses Jared quickly. “I’ll be back in a little while.”

Jared smiles and nods, turning to discuss the different possibilities of having a boy or a girl or probably both with his mom. 

Jensen follows Sophia out of the back door. The night is cloudy, but there’s no rain and the air is fresh and cold. 

“So, how are you feeling now that everyone knows?” she asks, her breath coming out in white puffs. 

Jensen shrugs. “I still can’t believe I’m gonna be a dad in a few months.” He rubs his hands over his belly. “There’s someone growing inside of me, someone that’ll rely on me, Soph. It’s hard wrapping my head around it. I never thought I’d be a dad one day. I never wanted to.”

“And now?”

“Now, I think I have to deal. Jared’s so fucking happy about it, it’s contagious,” Jensen looks at her and grins. 

Sophia laughs. “He’s got that effect on people. But are you okay with having pups?”

“I think I will be.” He rubs over his belly. “I can’t stop touching my stomach, y’know. Ever since I found out, I just feel the need to touch it.”

“I know what you mean,” Sophia says. “It’s normal. You want your pup to know that you’re there for him or her.”

A loud bang echoes through the alley and Jensen spins around, seeing a garbage bin lying across the ground a few feet away.

“What the hell was that?” Sophia asks, stepping next to Jensen. 

“Probably just a stray cat or something,” he says, not really believing it himself. 

Sophia nods. “Probably. We should get back inside, it’s getting cold.”

“Yeah,” Jensen says slowly, shooting another glance at the alley over this shoulder. Something makes the hairs on the back of his neck stand up and a cold shiver runs down his spine. He doesn’t know how, but he knows they’re being watched. “Let’s go.” He follows Sophia inside and only when he locks the back door does the feeling of being watched fade away. 

“That was weird,” Sophia says and Jensen can only agree. 

“It was.”

They walk back to where their friends are and where Chris and Steve are holding an impromptu jam session. Jared turns as soon as Jensen walks inside and he makes his way over. 

“Hey, I missed you,” Jared whispers, wrapping his arms around Jensen’s body, laying his hands on his belly. “You okay?”

Jensen nods. “Yeah, it’s just really getting cold outside.” He lifts his head and presses a soft kiss to Jared’s lips. “Now you can warm me up again.”

“Hmm,” Jared growls quietly into his ear. “Maybe we should take this home, then.”

  


Later when they’re lying naked beneath their sheets, Jensen thinks about telling Jared about what happened in the alley. But then again, he doesn’t really know what happened and he doesn’t want to make Jared worry over nothing. It could have just been a cat or a rat or something else. 

“You think we’ll be able to see them on the ultrasound on Monday?” Jared asks, looking up from where he’s been peppering kisses all over Jensen’s belly. 

Jensen chuckles a little. “I don’t know, maybe. But like your mom said it could be too early.” He runs his fingers through Jared’s hair. “This is a little surreal, right?”

A smile forms on Jared’s face. “Only a little. Y’know, to me this is someone upstairs giving us what we want.” He presses another soft kiss to Jensen’s belly. “You want this, right?” Jared asks and for the first time Jensen sees and feels something like uncertainty in Jared’s posture. 

He cups his mate’s head between his hands. “I want it,” he replies, without really knowing what ‘it’ will entail. 

But he knows that he and Jared will figure it out. 


	13. The Breath You Take 13/?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a world where werewolves and humans live next to each other but haven’t mated in over five-hundred years, Jensen and Jared met, hit it off and became fast friends. Jared, the son of Seattle pack’s alpha, is already very much in love with Jensen – even though he knows there’s no chance for their happily-ever-after – when a night of drunken sex changes everything both of them believed to be true.

  


Jensen wakes to soft murmurs and warm breath ghosting over his bare belly. Blinking his eyes open, he finds Jared talking quietly to his bellybutton. Warm, soft hands are framing it and Jared’s fingertips gently draw random patterns on the smooth skin. 

It’s not the first time that Jensen catches Jared talking to their baby quietly, but like all the other times this also takes his breath away.

“Jay?” 

Jared looks up and smiles at him. “Mornin’, Jen.” He scoots up a little and captures Jensen’s mouth in a soft kiss. “Sleep well?”

“Hmm,” Jensen breathes, chasing Jared when he pulls back from the kiss. 

He puts his arms around his mate’s neck and pulls Jared down again, licking inside the wet heat of Jared’s mouth and sucking on his tongue. Right now he could really care less about the morning breath. It’s been a month since they found out that Jensen’s pregnant and if he couldn’t keep his hands off Jared then, it’s almost impossible now. 

He’s horny all the time. His body craves Jared’s touch, Jared’s knot, and Jensen feels constantly on edge when they’re not together. They’ve even met in one of the break rooms at the hospital once, because Jensen couldn’t stand the need any longer. 

After, he had been so embarrassed but he couldn’t help himself, thinking he might just explode with want and need.

“Jay,” he pants. “Need…”

“Shh,” Jared murmurs. “I know exactly what you need, Jen.”

Ever since they realized that Jensen was kind of insatiable in bed, they’d started sleeping naked. It’s so much more convenient for easy access and now Jared pushes two of his fingers inside Jensen’s body. 

It’s not enough, not by a long shot, but it’s a start. Jensen pushes his hips down, fucking himself on Jared’s long fingers. A third is added and Jensen sucks his bottom lip between his teeth at the stretch. It feels delicious, the in and out of Jared’s fingers, rubbing alongside his inside walls and brushing over his prostate in a random pattern. 

“So gorgeous, Jen,” Jared whispers, before licking around a nipple and taking the nub between his teeth. 

He nibbles on it for a little while and then goes on to give the same treatment to Jensen’s other nipple. Jensen’s body is on fire and it’s screaming to be knotted, to be confined to Jared’s dick for hours. He feels like he might lose his mind if Jared doesn’t fill him with come right this second. Mumbling incoherent words, he arches his back towards his mate’s touch. 

His hard, leaking dick is trapped between their bellies and Jensen lets out a moan at the sweet friction Jared’s abs elicit. He’s so close, so damn close, there are stars exploding behind his eyelids. But it’s still not enough. 

“Jay,” he whines. “Jared…”

A second later, Jared pulls out his fingers and then his cock is pushing inside Jensen, splitting him open and Jensen feels his orgasm burn in his toes. He won’t last long. A few deliberate thrusts from Jared and his knot building inside Jensen, filling him up and pulling him apart, send Jensen tumbling over the edge with a silent scream on his lips. 

He comes to to Jared peppering his neck with soft kisses and running his fingers softly through his sweaty hair. 

“You okay?” he asks quietly. “You blacked out for a few minutes.”

Jensen lets out a soft noise that he can only describe as a purr and nods. He bares his neck, giving Jared better access. His mate licks across his mating bite and Jensen shudders, tangling his fingers in Jared’s hair. 

“I swear this’ll kill me one day,” Jensen murmurs and Jared chuckles lightly. 

“No dying allowed,” he says quietly. 

There’re still spurts of come being pumped into Jensen’s body and he feels Jared shiver with every single spurt. 

“I can’t get enough of you.”

“Hmm,” Jared moans in agreement. 

He wraps his fingers tightly around Jensen’s spent dick and the sensation is almost painful, but only almost. Jared coaxes him back to hardness, playing with the crown and rolling his balls in his hands. For Jensen, each morning could start like this. 

Most mornings they don’t have time for more than a quick fuck – whatever is considered “quick” for them because Jared’s stamina always astounds Jensen – but this morning they have an appointment with the OB Doc Beaver referred them too. He’s a really busy man and they had to wait four weeks for their first appointment. 

Today is the day and they’d both agreed to go into work only after the appointment. That means they have time for some really amazing sex beforehand. 

Jensen comes again with a shout and with Jared’s name on his lips, while Jared pushes his knot right against Jensen’s prostate, shooting more come into his body. 

“I could stay in bed with you forever,” Jensen mumbles. 

Jared grins. “Not today, baby. Today we’ll be meeting our pups for the first time.”

Jensen shakes his head fondly. “Pup, Jay. Pup.”

Jared laughs and pulls out his now soft dick, making Jensen hiss a little. “Sorry.” He presses a kiss over Jensen’s heart. “And it’s pups. I know it.” Getting up, Jensen sways a little with dizziness and Jared holds him. “Hey, you okay?”

He nods. “Yeah, fine. Just a little dizzy.”

“Maybe Dr. Collins can give you something for that,” Jared says and Jensen rubs a hand over his face, waiting for the world to come back into focus. 

“Yeah, maybe.” 

He feels a little nauseous too, but nothing too bad. Sophia has told him all about morning sickness, but until now Jensen hadn’t thrown up. Padding into the bathroom, he turns on the shower and lets out a surprised laugh when Jared steps up behind him and pulls them both into the shower. 

The water is warm and Jared’s hands on his muscles sooth away all the kinks. His mate soaps him up completely and then cleans him off gently. It feels great to be on the receiving end of Jared’s full attention. Jensen moans a little, feeling goose bumps appear on his skin, even though the water is hot. 

“So gorgeous,” Jared murmurs against his shoulder blade, running his fingers over Jensen’s abs and down his happy-trail. Before he can wrap his fingers around Jensen’s cock though, Jensen grasps Jared’s wrist. 

“We don’t have time.” He tugs Jared’s arm away and turns to face his mate. “I wish we did, but the appointment is soon and I don’t wanna miss it.”

“But later,” Jared pouts and Jensen laughs.

“Later, after work.”

“Stupid work,” Jared grumbles and steps out of the shower, starting to towel off. “Rather stay in bed with you all day.”

Jensen grins and grabs the towel Jared’s holding out for him. “Well, and who’d pay for all the steaks you like so much?”

Jared sticks out his tongue. “I hate it when you’re being reasonable.”

“Aww, poor baby,” Jensen teases and presses a soft kiss to the corner of Jared’s mouth. “I promise you can have your wicked way with me as soon as we get home tonight.”

Brushing his fingertips over Jensen’s belly, Jared grins smugly. “I can’t wait.”

  


An hour later, Jensen’s sitting in a chair in Dr. Collins’ office, bouncing his legs nervously. Jared’s pacing the cluttered room, looking at the titles of various books that line the shelves and certificates that are decorating the walls. Jensen can feel his own nervousness mirrored in Jared’s behavior and it does nothing to calm him down. 

His heart is beating a mile a minute and he fumbles with the hem of his shirt, while they wait for Dr. Collins to meet them. Jensen wonders for a second if the good doctor will feel as out of his depth as Jensen’s feeling, because he’s never treated a male pregnancy. But then Doc Beaver said that Collins is one of the best and maybe he really knows what he’s talking about. 

The door to the office opens and in walks a man in his mid-thirties with dark brown hair. He smiles at Jensen and holds out his hand. 

“I’m Dr. Collins. You must be the famous Jensen Ackles.”

Jensen nods, feeling a little uncomfortable. “Yeah. Not sure about the famous thing, though.”

Dr. Collins chuckles. “Well, the media has quite an interest in you.”

Shrugging, Jensen nods, but stays silent. He really doesn’t know what to say to that. Jared’s glaring at Dr. Collins though, who seems to be completely oblivious, however. 

“Mr. Padalecki,” he says, holding out his hand for Jared to shake. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too.”

“You too,” Jared grumbles and Jensen sends him a look that shuts him up instantly. 

“C’mon, Jay. Sit down.”

Jared sits down next to him, lacing their fingers together, while they wait for Dr. Collins to say something else. The doctor is staring at his file and Jensen feels the need to scream at him, beg him to say something, anything. 

“I wanted to apologize for the long waiting time,” Dr. Collins says. “But Doc Beaver told me that it was still very early in your pregnancy and that you were healthy and taking the necessary vitamins. From now on, we’ll make an appointment every two to four weeks to determine your and your baby’s health.”

Jensen nods, squeezing Jared’s hand tightly. “Okay.”

“Now, it’s been a while since I’ve had a male patient,” he grins at Jensen. “But I’m sure that some things you never forget. So why don’t you tell me how you’re feeling? Any morning sickness or other discomfort?”

“No, not until now,” Jensen shakes his head. “I feel fine, except for a little dizziness whenever I get out of bed.”

“Uh huh.” Dr. Collins scribbles something on a piece of paper in Jensen’s file. “That’s good. Sounds like an easy pregnancy to me so far. How about we take a look?”

Jensen shoots Jared a look and is met with a broad smile. “Yeah, that’d be great, I guess.”

Dr. Collins raises his eyebrows in amusement. “It sounds like you’re a little wary?”

“I’m not,” Jensen starts and sighs. “It’s just a lot to wrap my head around. Two months ago, I was completely human, without the possibility of ever getting pregnant myself. Now… I’m here.”

“I can understand that.” Dr. Collins pats on an examination table and Jensen climbs on it, before reaching for Jared’s hand again. “Believe me, a lot of the fertile male werewolves I’ve had in my practice had the same problems. But once they saw their pups, it changed. It changes the view of yourself, I’ve been told. So, don’t you worry, it’s normal to feel like it’s a little much right now.” He grabs the gel and squirts it on Jensen’s belly. “Careful, it’s cold.”

Gasping at the cold liquid on his skin, Jensen squeezes Jared’s hand harder. “It’s really cold.”

Dr. Collins laughs. “You’ll get used to it. So, now before we get started, I wanna say that it’s still early in your first trimester. Please don’t freak out if you don’t hear the baby’s heartbeat just yet.”

“Ehm, Dr. Collins?” Jared asks and the doctor turns to face him, giving Jared an encouraging smile to continue, “Is there a possibility that you’ll be able to tell us if there’s one or two pups in there?”

Jensen groans, rolling his eyes. “Jared,” he hisses, but Dr. Collins only laughs. 

“We’ll see. Like I said it’s still early, sometimes twins are not discovered til the second trimester and in very rare occasions it takes even longer.”

Jared nods. “Okay.”

The stick on Jensen’s belly feels foreign and the grey, grainy picture on the monitor shows him nothing, if he’s honest. He can’t understand how Dr. Collins can see anything, let alone determine if the baby is okay. Jared’s hand is squeezing hard, while his mate’s eyes are fixated on the monitor. 

“Ah, there it is,” Dr. Collins says, pointing at something that looks more like a small ball than anything else. “That’s your pup.”

Jensen frowns. “Really? I don’t… how do you know?”

Dr. Collins chuckles. “Just trust me. You’ll be able to see him or her better when they grow a little more. In a few weeks, you should able to see that it’s a baby in there.”

Jensen glances at his belly disbelievingly, before looking at Jared, who’s still staring at the monitor intently. 

“Jay, you okay?”

Nodding quickly, Jared says, “That’s our pup, Jen.” 

He sounds completely in awe and Jensen wishes he could be as enthusiastic as Jared is about this whole thing. It’s not that he completely dismisses the idea of being pregnant, it’s just… it doesn’t feel real, doesn’t feel like his life at all. 

Dr. Collins moves the stick over Jensen’s belly a little and then suddenly there’s a thumping sound echoing through the room. 

“Is that…?” Jensen asks, even though he already knows it. 

“That’s your pup’s heartbeat,” Dr. Collins says and gives him a small smile. “Makes it a little more real, huh?”

Jensen nods dumbfounded. “Yeah.” He’s staring at the monitor, just listening to his baby’s heart beating. When he finally looks over at Jared, his mate is smiling softly at Jensen. “That’s our baby, Jay.”

Jared grins and nods, pressing their foreheads together. “Amazing, right?”

It is. It really is; amazing and breathtaking and Jensen’s head is spinning. His baby’s heart is beating. This sound makes it so real. 

He’s having a baby. 

  


“Jen? C’mon, wake up.”

Jensen blinks open his eyes. What happened? He remembers listening to his baby’s heartbeat and then… nothing. The room is light once again, but he’s still lying on the examination table. The monitor is off, though and his belly is covered up with his t-shirt again. 

His belly. 

He runs his fingertips gently over the fabric-covered skin. His baby is growing in there, his and Jared’s pup. Oh wow, his head is spinning and he feels dizzy. 

“Jen? You with me.”

Blinking rapidly Jensen tries to concentrate on Jared’s voice and then his mate comes into focus. “What happened?” he asks, his voice raw. 

“You fainted. Dr. Collins said that it can happen in the early stages of pregnancy.”

Fainted? Shit. 

“The baby?”

Jared chuckles fondly. “The baby is fine.” He presses a kiss to Jensen’s forehead. “Dr. Collins said you need to drink more water or juice. Coffee’s forbidden, though.”

“Urgh,” Jensen groans sitting up. “No coffee. How do you think I’ll ever get anything done?”

“I’m sure you’ll live,” Jared smiles and kisses him softly. “You sure you’re okay?”

Just from the tone of Jared’s voice, Jensen knows that he’s not talking about what just happened, but about the whole situation. He cups Jared’s head between his hands. “I’m good. Really.”

“Good,” Jared grins. 

“So, I see you’re with us again.”

Jensen turns to see Dr. Collins walking into the examination room again. “Yeah.”

“Good. How are you feeling? Still dizzy?”

“I’m okay.”

Dr. Collins smiles. “That’s really good. So, while you were out I’ve taken a closer look at the baby and everything looks good and healthy. You might want to cut down on the coffee a little, and drink a lot of water and juice instead.”

“No coffee, really?” Jensen moans. He really doesn’t know how he’ll function without his coffee in the morning.

“Nope. Sorry.”

“Well, okay,” Jensen says. “Anything else?”

“No. But I’d like to see you again in two weeks.” 

Ten minutes later, when they are finally on their way to work, Jensen takes Jared’s hand, while stopping at a red light and presses it against his flat belly. 

“Hey baby,” he whispers. “Me and your daddy were really happy to meet you.” Jared’s looking at him with watery eyes, when he looks back up. “What?”

“Nothing.” Jared shakes his head. “Just… I really love you.”

Jensen chuckles lightly. “I love you, too.”

Their lips meet in a soft kiss, that’s only interrupted by angry drivers honking when the light turns green. They both smile at each other for a second before Jared drives the car the remaining ten blocks to the hospital. 

The parking garage of the hospital is poorly lit and Jensen hates it here. He hated it before whatever happened in the alley behind _Kane’s_ happened, but now every time he walks through the dark aisles his skin prickles. 

It’s stupid and paranoid. He hasn’t talked to Jared about the feeling of being watched in the alley, mostly because he’s convinced himself that it was either a stray cat or a homeless person hiding in the dark. That’s why the cold shiver running down his spine every time they walk from their parking lot to the elevator, is even more stupid. 

Jared kisses Jensen as soon as the elevator stops at his floor. “I’ll see you tonight.”

Jensen grins. “Go and save lives.”

Two floors above Jared’s, Jensen gets off the elevator. The hallways are deserted and Jensen can feel his paranoia returning, making his skin prickle again. 

This has to stop, damn it. 

He turns around the corner and lets out a deep breath when he sees Miranda at the reception desk. It’s still weird that Alona works at the other side of the hospital now, but Miranda is nice and competent and it’s not her fault that the hospital decided to separate werewolves and humans. 

“Hey, Miranda.”

She smiles at him. “Mornin’, Dr. Ackles. Dr. Armory said to tell you he’d like for you to call him when you have some free time. And there’s a Mr. Cameron waiting in your office, said it was an important personal matter.”

Jensen can feel himself bristle at the thought of Ian inside his office. “Thank you, Miranda.” He walks quickly down the hallway and pushes open the door to his office not a minute later. 

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Ian spins around, from where he was inspecting some books on a shelf at the back wall. 

“Oh hey, JR. Nice office.” Ian grins wickedly. “You gonna tell me how many cocks you sucked to get it?”

“Out!” Jensen says determined. “Get out now!”

“Now, is that a way to treat your ex?”

“If you’re not out in five seconds, I’m calling security,” Jensen says icily. “I’m sure you don’t want the publicity, or do you? First losing a ridiculous case in the court room and then getting thrown out of Seattle General Hospital, that can’t be good for your reputation.”

Ian gives him an amused look. “Okay. I’m leaving. I’m just here to tell you that I just moved to Seattle and took a job at Summers & Harris anyway. So, I guess I’ll see you, JR.”

The door closes when Ian’s gone and Jensen takes a deep breath. Summers & Harris is one of the largest law firms in the Seattle area and they’re not exactly what you would call werewolf-friendly. Of course, there’s no open racism, but Summers & Harris made sure that there’s not one werewolf working for them – it’s a known secret. 

That Ian now works for them somehow unsettles Jensen. He doesn’t know what Ian is planning, but he knows it can’t be anything good. 

  


“So, how did it go?” 

Jared grins broadly at Chad, while pulling on his scrubs. “Awesome. We heard the pup’s heartbeat.”

Chad grins back. “How’s Jen dealing with this?”

“Good. He fainted when he heard the baby’s heartbeat,” Jared grins. Yeah, he thinks that Jensen’s finally accepting that he’s pregnant, that finally it’s sinking in and becoming reality. 

“Really?” Chad laughs. “Awesome. But he’s okay, right?”

“He’s fine. Needs to drink a little more, but other than that he’s… fine.”

“I’m glad, dude.” Chad claps his shoulder. “I’m so proud of you. You’re gonna be a great dad.”

Jared chuckles. “Well, thanks. It’s your turn first, though. How’s Sophia?”

“She grumbles a lot, but other than that she’s fine. The doctor says a week, maybe less.”

“You excited?” 

Chad nods. “Yeah that and terrified.”

Jared laughs. “I’m sure you’ll be okay. C’mon, we gotta work some.”

  


It’s late that evening when Jared walks up to Jensen’s floor. He’s tired and his shoulders are tense; two appendectomies have taken their toll on Jared’s muscles. 

Jensen’s bent over his desk, reading. 

“Hey, what’re you doing?”

“Oh hey,” Jensen looks up and smiles. “Studying for the additional test I need to take to practice again. You look beat.”

Jared cracks his neck. “I am. How about we go home, get some Chinese takeout and snuggle on the couch?”

“That sounds awesome,” Jensen agrees. He yawns a little and shuts his book. 

The drive home is quick and Jensen has his hand on Jared’s thigh the whole time. Warmth seeps through the fabric, draining out a little of the tension in his body. 

“You okay?” Jensen asks softly and Jared shoots him a grin. 

“Perfect. You?”

“Me too.” Jensen lets out a deep breath. “Ian came by the hospital today.”

Jared’s fingers wrap around the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles are turning white. “What the fuck did he want?”

“He’s moved to Seattle and works for Summers & Harris now.”

“What?!” Jared asks loudly, anger is burning in his veins. How can this guy just move here? “Why?”

Jensen shrugs. “I don’t know. I just wanted to tell you.”

“Aren’t you angry that he just moved here?”

“Don’t know. It’s a free country and I can’t exactly stop him ,” Jensen lets out a sigh. 

“That guy broke your heart, cheated on you and then he came here and got me arrested for your fucking murder. I think a little anger is allowed,” Jared grits out. 

“I just don’t wanna think about him anymore,” Jensen reasons. “He’s had power over me for so long. I’m sick of living my life with him always at the back of my mind. Besides, maybe he’ll get bored if we ignore him.”

Jared rubs a hand over his face. “Yeah, maybe. I’m sorry, Jen. But this guy makes me want to rip him apart.”

“I know. But we can’t do anything about it, not right now. So, let’s just enjoy our evening together.”

The light on the answering machine is blinking when they get home and Jared presses play. 

_“You have thirty new messages.”_

Jared frowns. 

_“One: JT, I just wanted to hear how the doctor’s visit went. Call me.”_ He smiles at the excited voice of his mom. 

_“Two: JT, Jensen, where are you? You’re not picking up your phones. Call me and don’t talk to anyone.”_ His dad sounds stressed and Jared wonders what this is about. 

Jared pulls out his cell and sees ten missed calls. Damn, he’d put it on silent when they had the doctor’s visit this morning and had forgotten to turn it back on. 

_“Three: Mr. Ackles, this is Allison Mack from Seattle Daily. Would you be willing to give an exclusive interview about the pregnancy? If yes, please call me at 555-7846-365. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.”_

The other messages are more of the same, either his father calling to ask them to call him or some reporter asking for an interview. 

“What the hell?” 

Jensen’s standing in the doorway, looking shocked. 

“I don’t know.”

“How the fuck did they find out about the pregnancy?”

That’s a question Jared really wants to know the answer to. 


	14. The Breath You Take 14/18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a world where werewolves and humans live next to each other but haven’t mated in over five-hundred years, Jensen and Jared met, hit it off and became fast friends. Jared, the son of Seattle pack’s alpha, is already very much in love with Jensen – even though he knows there’s no chance for their happily-ever-after – when a night of drunken sex changes everything both of them believed to be true.

  


The bathroom floor tiles are cold and it seeps through Jensen’s pants, chilling him to the bone. He’s shaking and his skin is covered in a light sheen of cold sweat. Another wave of nausea hits him and he retches, spitting gastric acid into the toilet bowl. He emptied his stomach the three times he’s already thrown up. 

A cold cloth is placed on the back of his neck. 

“How are you feeling?” 

Jared’s fingers comb gently through his hair and Jensen rest his head on his forearm that’s lying on the rim of the toilet bowl. 

“Sick,” he mumbles. “How did they find out, Jay?”

“I don’t know, Jen.” Soft lips press against his damp skin. “But it’s gonna be okay. My dad’s on his way here, so we can discuss how to handle this.”

After listening to their answering machine, Jared had turned on the TV and they’d found out that the pregnancy was all over the evening news. The shock about the news getting out had turned Jensen’s stomach upside down and he had rushed to the bathroom to throw up, while Jared had called Gerry. 

“We should have just made an announcement when we first found out,” Jensen says quietly. “At least then it’d already be old news.”

“We just have to deal with it now,” Jared reasons. “And we will, Jen. It’ll be okay.”

He presses their foreheads together and Jensen sighs. “I wish I had your confidence.”

A knock at the door prompts Jared to pull away and get to his feet. “I’ll go and let the Alpha in, Jen. Just stay here.”

Jensen grunts and takes a deep breath, waiting for another wave of nausea to hit him. He’s still dizzy and not sure he’ll be able to get to his feet and stand alone, so he stays on the bathroom floor. His stomach grumbles a little, but he doesn’t throw up. 

A relieved sigh escapes him. He feels exhausted and his eyes threaten to slip shut. Jared and Gerry are in the living room talking softly, too softly for Jensen to make out what’s being said. 

“Hey Jen.”

Jensen blinks his eyes open and sees Jared kneeling next to him again, his warm hand lying against Jensen’s damp cheek. “I’m okay.”

Jared smiles softly. “No, you’re not. You’re exhausted. Why don’t you go to sleep? I’ll discuss everything with my dad and bring you up to date tomorrow.”

Jensen wants to protest, but he’s too tired and worn out. “Okay,” he mumbles. 

“Here.” 

Jared hands him a glass of water and Jensen takes a sip before rinsing his mouth out with the rest. It makes him feel a little better. Scooping him up into his arms, Jared carries him into the bedroom and tucks him into their bed. 

“Sleep.”

Jensen wants to tell Jared to stay, but he’s too tired to say anything. Instead he just buries his head into the pillows and welcomes the darkness that surrounds him at once. 

  


Jared runs his fingers through Jensen’s hair. His mate’s skin is pale, almost gray and he looks sick and exhausted. 

“It’s gonna be okay, Jen,” he whispers, before making his way back into the living room. 

Mark and his father are sitting on the couch, mugs of coffee in their hands and they look up when Jared walks into the room. 

“How is he?” his dad asks. 

“Exhausted and sick. But I think he’ll be okay. It was a big shock to hear that the news about the pregnancy has got out. You got any idea who might have said something?”

“No,” Mark says, shaking his head. 

“But a lot of people knew already,” Gerry adds. “It could have been any one of them.”

“No way one of our friends said anything to the press,” Jared says defiantly. 

The Alpha bristles. “Well, someone did and now we have an even bigger problem on our hands.” 

Jared frowns and Mark turns on the TV. It shows a demonstration of hundreds of people holding self-made banners demanding the complete separation of humans and werewolves immediately. 

“What the hell?” Jared gasps. 

“That’s New York,” Gerry says. “Alpha Pileggi called me and said that he and New York’s mayor might not have a choice but to fold to the demands, to avoid a full blown war between humans and werewolves. I’ve talked to other Alphas; the news about the pregnancy has pushed us even further apart. Werewolves and humans alike don’t like what’s happening right now; the mixture of human and werewolf genes and heritage. New York might not be the only community that has to separate werewolves and humans for good. LA and San Francisco are close behind.”

“But,” Jared shakes his head. “We’ve lived together all of our lives. I mean, fivehundred years ago it was common for werewolves to find their mates in humans.”

“It’s not anymore, Jared,” Mark says seriously. “People are scared. We may have lived next to each other, but we still married and had children with our own people. The fact that this might change scares people.”

“What about Seattle?” Jared asks, shivering when he thinks what this might mean for their lives. 

“The changing might have happened here, but Seattle Pack and also the humans that live here, have always been very open to living together. There are voices that call for separation, but right now they’re small in comparison with what’s happening in New York, LA or San Francisco,” his dad says. “JT, we think that it might be good for you and Jensen to do an interview. It could help to keep Seattle’s people united.”

Jared rubs a hand over his face. “I’ll talk to Jensen about it.” He feels a little nauseous himself right now. How did everything go to shit so fast?

“JT,” his dad says, laying his hand on his shoulder. 

He looks up at his dad and shakes his head. “Don’t. There’s nothing you could say to make me feel better right now.”

“Son, we’ll make sure that it’s gonna be okay,” his dad says. “I won’t allow a separation of humans and werewolves to happen. We’re only strong together.”

Jared nods. “I… I’m really tired. Could you… maybe…?”

“Of course, son. Let me know when you’ve talked to Jensen about the interview.”

Jared falls to the couch when the front door closes a couple of minutes later. His head is aching. Massaging his temples, he closes his eyes. How can Jensen’s changing and pregnancy cause such a rift between their cultures? This was supposed to be something happy, something great. 

Now the world they’ve known is falling apart because he couldn’t resist the temptation of having Jensen just once. If he just could have…? Jared shakes his head. This is stupid. He doesn’t regret turning Jensen, he doesn’t regret having pups with him. He loves Jensen and they will get through this. Jared will make sure that his pups will grow up in a safe world, no matter how it’ll look. 

When he goes to bed a little later, he presses close to Jensen, kissing his mate’s lips softly. Jensen moans, turning over to face Jared, but doesn’t wake up. There’s a little frown on Jensen’s forehead and Jared smoothes it away with his thumb. 

“I promise I’ll keep you and the pups safe,” he whispers, brushing his fingers over Jensen’s belly. “Nothing will happen to any of you, not as long as I’m around.”

He wraps his arms tightly around his mate’s body and drifts into a light sleep, where nightmares haunt him. 

  


Jensen pads into the kitchen, when the sun’s rising over the horizon. The nausea is gone, but now he has aching muscles from all the throwing up. 

Jared’s standing at the stove and Jensen walks up behind him to see that he’s making scrambled eggs. He presses a kiss to his mate’s naked shoulder. 

“Missed you in bed.”

“Sorry,” Jared says softly. “Couldn’t sleep.”

Jensen rubs his nose over the taunt skin of Jared’s back. “We wouldn’t have had to sleep,” he says, licking a wet strip down Jared’s back. 

“Jen, don’t…”

“You okay, Jay?” Jensen frowns, because Jared saying ‘no’ to sex is a first. 

Jared sucks his bottom lip between his teeth and puts some of the eggs and two pieces of toast on Jensen’s plate. “Eat. We have to be at the hospital soon.”

“No,” Jensen grabs the plate out of Jared’s hand and puts it aside. “Not before you tell me what happened. What did your dad say last night?”

Jared shakes his head. “Just eat, Jen.”

“No, damn it! You will tell me what’s going on right the fuck now,” Jensen demands. “What happened last night?”

“Nothing,” Jared spits out. “Just the whole world falling apart. Oh, and it’s my damn fault.”

“What are you talking about?” Jensen asks, confused. 

“There are demonstrations all over the world, demanding separate cities for humans and werewolves,” Jared grits out. “New York, LA and San Francisco will have no choice but to accept the demands to keep the cities safe from riots.”

“Oh,” Jensen breathes. “That… I didn’t know it was that bad. Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“And then what?” Jared asks with his eyebrows raised. “You couldn’t have done anything, just like me. Dad thinks that it’ll help if we give a public interview. I think the world we knew is going to shit no matter what.”

“Jared,” Jensen says, gripping his mate’s biceps. “What? You wanna give up? Wanna stop fighting?”

“I wanna keep you safe, Jen. You and the pups, and if that means separating humans and werewolves, then I’m happy to do that.”

“No way,” Jensen says seriously. “What about Chris and Steve? What about our human friends? You just happy to leave them behind?”

“No!” Jared shouts back. “Of course not, but they’re not my first concern. My first concern is you and the pups.”

“Well, then we should give the interview, see how it goes,” Jensen says. “It might help.”

Jared shakes his head. “I don’t know what good it’ll do. It might only push back the inevitable. You think Seattle can stay like this, when New York, LA and San Francisco separate humans and werewolves? It’s only a matter of time before the Alpha and the city council will have to yield too.”

“Jared,” Jensen cups his face between his hands. “Can we try it your dad’s and my way first, before we just accept what’s happening all over the world? We might have a chance to save our little world here.”

Jared nods slowly. “I’m scared that you and the pups will get hurt. But okay, if you think it’ll help, we’ll do it. I call my dad later.” He presses his lips against Jensen’s. “Now eat your eggs.”

“Jay,” Jensen says softly. “This is not your fault. Maybe the world’s changing, but I don’t regret what happened. For the first time in my life I feel like I belong and that’s all because of you. I’m happy, for the first time in a long time.” He grabs Jared’s hand and presses it against his belly. “I love you and the pup, more than anything.”

“I love you, too,” Jared says solemnly. “I promise you, I’ll make sure you and the pups are safe.”

Jensen smiles. “It’s pup, Jay. There’s only one in here.”

Jared grins and Jensen feels a little of the tension fall away. “Dr. Collins said that it’s too early to say.”

“Well, I’m carrying it and I know,” Jensen says and winks at his mate. “I guess you just have to knock me up once more if you want two kids.”

Jared growls, pushing Jensen back against the counter. “Don’t say something you don’t mean, Jen.”

“Who says I don’t mean it?” His voice is low and raw with emotion. “Just because I’m only carrying one pup right now, doesn’t mean we have to stop after that.”

“God, Jen…”

Jared pushes his tongue between Jensen’s lips, claiming his mouth in a hungry kiss. Jensen chuckles against his mate’s lips and thinks that it’s okay if they get to work late. 

  


Jared rushes into the changing room, tugging off his clothes in the run and pulling on his scrubs in record time. The impromptu sex on the kitchen counter had lasted longer than Jared had wanted it to, but he just can’t resist Jensen, especially not when he’s begging for Jared to knot and breed him. 

The drive to the hospital had added to him and Jensen being late. The city’s cluttered with people and then there was the issue of the reporters waiting on the steps of their apartment building and at the hospital itself. 

“There you are,” Chad hisses. 

“Yeah, sorry. We had a long night.”

Chad smiles a little and nods. “Yeah, I thought so. Meyers hasn’t noticed that you’re missing yet. New York separating humans and werewolves is the big news of the day.”

Jared’s head jerks up. “What?”

“Haven’t you heard? Alpha Pileggi and the mayor announced it this morning. New York will separate their population into human and werewolf areas. They said something about getting it done in the next month or two.”

“Did they say how they’re going to do it?” Jared asked. “I mean that’s a hell of a move to plan and execute.”

“No, just that they can’t risk humans and werewolves living together any longer,” Chad said. “Some cars went up in flames early this morning. That’s why they’ve rushed their decision.”

“God,” Jared gasps in shock. “I didn’t… Jensen and I avoided the news this morning. Were people hurt?”

Chad shakes his head. “Not that I know of.” He grabs Jared’s shoulders. “Hey, it’s gonna be okay. The Alpha will know what to do to keep Seattle pack safe.”

Jared nods. “Yeah.” He rubs a hand over his face. “He wants Jensen and me to give a public interview, hoping that this might calm things down in our own city.”

“What do you think?”

Jared shrugs. “Honestly, I just want to keep Jensen and my pups safe. And if that means separating us from the humans, I’d do it.”

Chad watches him for a long time. “Yeah, I know. Let’s hope that the Alpha is right and that the interview will help to calm things down.”

  


Jensen had learned about Alpha Pileggi’s decision from Miranda at the front desk. It had shocked him to hear the news, even though after what Jared had told him this morning, he had somehow expected it. 

“I can’t believe that New York’s going to separate humans and werewolves,” Sophia says, before taking a bite of her salad. They had met for lunch, after Sophia called him at the hospital. “This is stupid. I mean, I can’t imagine how much tax money that’ll cost.”

Jensen nods slowly. “Yeah. I can’t believe they can’t get the people to live together again. Miranda told me that there were cars burning during the protests last night. And all because I’ve been turned in a werewolf and am carrying pups.”

Sophia shakes her head. “No, Jen. This has nothing to do with you being turned into a werewolf anymore. That was just the trigger. What’s happening now is ignorant humans and werewolves fighting for stupid things they think will make life easier. It won’t. It’ll only make things harder.”

“I just wish I could do something to stop it, y’know.” Jensen sighs. “Well, the Alpha wants us to do an interview. Hopefully, that’ll calm things down in our town, at least.”

Sophia nods. “Yeah, that’d be nice. But if it doesn’t, don’t feel guilty, because Jen, it would have happened one way or the other. Like Sherry said, the argument about separating human and werewolf communities isn’t a new one.”

Jensen smiles. He wishes he could believe Sophia. But all this still feels a lot like his fault. 

They pay their bill and walk slowly back to the hospital that’s only one block away, Sophia linking her arm with Jensen’s. He smiles at her and rubs a little over her belly. 

“It’s not long anymore. You excited?”

Sophia nods quickly. “Very. I can’t wait for them to finally get here. They’re getting restless as well.”

“Aren’t you scared?” Jensen asks, thinking about his own fears about giving birth. 

“Not really. I mean I know it’ll hurt, but what I get in return will be worth it.”

Jensen’s about to reply, when someone knocks against his shoulder, making him stumble. “Hey,” he says annoyed. “The least you could do is apologize.”

The guy turns around. He’s taller than Jensen and more built, his eyes a steel blue and there’s a hateful expression on his face. 

“What? To you, half-breed?” Jensen’s taken aback by the open hate that’s thrown at him. “No way, I’ll ever bow to a half-breed like you, or to your children.”

“Hey asshole, what’s your problem?” Sophia asks, her hands pushed against her hips. “You jealous?”

The guy snorts. “Of him? Never. He’s the reason everything’s going to shit.” He looks at Jensen with piercing eyes. “You happy that you’ve destroyed everything? Tainting our pure genes with human ones. It’s disgusting.”

“Fuck off,” Sophia says. 

“C’mon, Soph. He’s not worth it,” Jensen says, grabbing his friend’s elbow and pulling her down the street.

“What, you not even man enough to defend yourself?”

Jensen turns. “I don’t need to. Nothing I say will get you to change your hateful view.”

“But maybe I’d like to see how good you can fight?” the guy hisses. 

The next few minutes happen in a blur to Jensen. Suddenly the guy is changing and Sophia is pushing him out of the way, changing as well. Jensen stumbles to the ground and his eyes grow wide when two huge werewolves jump at each other and start fighting on the sidewalk. 

When Sophia gets a paw to the face, Jensen’s gets to his feet, running over to where the guy has Sophia temporarily pinned. 

“No!” he yells. “She’s pregnant, you asshole.”

He doesn’t even realize that he’s changing until his view shifts and he feels four legs beneath him. Not for a second does he think about it, he just charges at the other werewolf. He knocks him off Sophia, snarling. The guy takes a step back, obviously surprised at Jensen’s sudden change. 

It’s that second of hesitation that Jensen uses to his own advantage. He charges forward and barely feels claws piercing his skin. They both struggle, paws and claws scratching skin and drawing blood. But then Jensen gets the upper hand and a second later the other werewolf is lying beneath him with Jensen’s teeth grazing his neck. 

“Jensen!”

He hears Jared yelling at him, but he’d rather rip out the guy’s throat than turn around to his mate. 

“C’mon, Jen. It’s okay, he’s down. It’s over.”

Jensen growls, closing his mouth and piercing skin. He hears the other werewolf yip and whine, but all he cares about is making him pay for fighting Sophia. 

“Jen, stop it. That’s not you.” Jared’s voice is soft. “C’mon, the police are here. Let them take care of him.”

Reluctantly, Jensen lets go of the guy and takes a step back. Officers are right there, putting a silver collar on the other werewolf. Jensen turns around and sees Chad sitting with Sophia, whose face is contorted in pain. She’d changed back into her human form and only Chad’s jacket is covering her naked body. 

Then, Jensen realizes that he’s still in his wolf form and he has no idea how to change back. He had completely changed on instinct and now he looks up at Jared, looking for a cue on how to change back. Jared kneels down. 

“Y’know, that’s the first time that you changed without the lunar cycle. I didn’t think that would happen for another two or three cycles.” He smiles and nuzzles Jensen’s nose. “I’m so proud of you. But now it’s time to change back. Can you do that, for me?”

Jensen looks at Jared intently, wishing he could talk to his mate, maybe even kiss him. Slowly his view shifts again and then he’s lying naked on the cold ground. His clothes are lying a few feet away from him, completely ripped apart. He sighs. Damn, he liked that shirt. 

Jared wraps him in a warm jacket and pulls him to his feet. “C’mon, we have to get you both checked over.” He leads Jensen towards the hospital, Chad with Sophia in his arms right behind them. 

“Sophia’s water broke, we need to hurry.”

They get to the hospital and Sophia is taken out of Chad’s arms. Jensen would like to go with them, but Jared pulls him to the changing room. 

“Here are some scrubs for you. Get dressed then I’ll have a look at those scratches and then I’ll take you to Dr. Collins so he can check that you and the pups are okay.”

It hits Jensen. He’s pregnant. He completely forgot when he saw Sophia and the guy fighting, all he could think about was protecting his pregnant friend. But he’s pregnant too. He runs his fingers over his belly. There are no scratches, but he knows that doesn’t mean anything. 

“Jen?”

He looks up and sees Jared looking at him with concerned eyes. “I didn’t… I forgot. All I could think about was getting to Sophia, making sure she was alright. How could I forget, Jay?”

“Hey,” Jared pulls him into his arms. “It’s okay. I’m sure everything’s fine.”

“I can’t… I can’t lose this baby, Jay,” Jensen says and Jared cups his face between his hands. 

“You won’t. Okay? Nothing’s going to happen to the baby. C’mon, get dressed so that I can check your scratches and then we’ll go to Dr. Collins and I’m sure he’ll tell us that the baby is okay.”

Jensen dresses and lets Jared patch him up, all without really noticing what’s done to him. All he can think about is that the baby has to be okay. 


	15. The Breath You Take 15/18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a world where werewolves and humans live next to each other but haven’t mated in over five-hundred years, Jensen and Jared met, hit it off and became fast friends. Jared, the son of Seattle pack’s alpha, is already very much in love with Jensen – even though he knows there’s no chance for their happily-ever-after – when a night of drunken sex changes everything both of them believed to be true.

  


The front door closes behind them and Jensen falls back against it, letting out a deep breath. His hand comes up to his belly and presses against it. 

The baby is okay. 

Nothing happened to him or her and Jensen’s grateful for that. How could he have been so reckless? Well, he knows why. 

Sophia, one of his best friends, was fighting a fight for him. She shouldn’t have had to. Of course she didn’t know that he was able to just shift into his werewolf form at will – which he didn’t know either, of course – and fighting a werewolf in his human form would have pretty much been suicide. But still, he should have found a way so both of them could have walked away unscathed. 

Now Sophia is in labor and they haven’t heard anything from her or Chad that would calm his or Jared’s nerves. Jared, however, had insisted that they’d go home and try to get some rest. 

“Hey.” Two hands cup his face carefully between them and he looks up at Jared, who’s smiling softly. “Everything’s fine, okay? You and the pups are fine and Sophia and the pups will be fine too.”

“I should have found a different way,” Jensen says quietly. “I’m not a fighter.”

Jared chuckles softly. “You were pretty sexy, though. And that changing at will thing? Damn, so fucking hot.”

“Jay,” Jensen sighs. “I should have thought about the baby first. Damn it, because of me, because of this, Sophia is now in labor and we don’t know how she’s doing.”

“She’ll be fine,” Jared says again. “She was almost due anyway. The pups are healthy and strong and so’s Sophia. Don’t worry about her.”

“I really hope you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right,” Jared grins. “I’m always right.”

Jensen rolls his eyes fondly. “Of course you are.”

“Hey!” Jared mock gasps. 

Jensen smiles slightly, before turning serious again. “I can’t believe this guy would just start a fight in the middle of the day on a crowded street. Bystanders could have been hurt.”

“Well, he’ll get what he deserves,” Jared says and Jensen can hear the anger in his voice. “Hey, how about some hot chocolate?”

Jensen raises his eyebrows. “Hot chocolate? I’m not five, y’know.”

Jared sticks out his tongue. “I’m not either, despite what everyone might think, but I still like me some hot chocolate.”

“Okay, okay,” Jensen says and grins a little. “Go and make me hot chocolate, bitch.”

Jared snorts and shakes his head, but Jensen can see that he’s smiling a little under the bangs that fall into his face. 

Ten minutes later, they’re cuddled close beneath a blanket on the couch, each of them holding a mug of hot chocolate and whipped cream. Jared’s hand is resting on Jensen’s stomach, beneath his shirt. 

“I wish every day could be like this,” Jared moans. “I mean, us sitting here, drinking hot chocolate. Not the part where you fought a werewolf and Sophia went into labor.”

“Well,” Jensen yawns. “I guess we have to go back to work eventually. I mean, we’ve missed so many days lately; it’s not even funny anymore.”

“We’ve had a lot to deal with,” Jared says softly. “They know that.”

Jensen closes his eyes, letting his head fall back against the couch. “You think our lives will ever go back to normal?”

“One day,” Jared says slowly. “But it’ll never be what it was before and I’m glad.”

“Me too.” Jensen opens his eyes and sees his mate hovering above him. “It means I get to have you and the baby.”

A blinding smile appears on Jared’s face. “I love you and no matter what happens, I will always love you.”

“I love you too.”

They kiss softly, forgetting everything around them for a while, until Jared’s cell phone rings. He pulls back and gives Jensen an apologetic grin. 

“Hello?” His face lights up a little. “Really? That’s amazing. Congrats, bro… Yeah, sure… I’ll tell him… you and Soph rest and I’m so happy for you, Chad… Okay, bye.”

“And?”

“Both pups are very healthy and cute, Chad says.”

Jensen feels a weight fall from his shoulders. “That’s good. How’s Sophia?”

“She’s tired, but okay. Everything went well. She wants us to come by tomorrow.”

Jensen sighs. “Thank god. That’s good news. We haven’t had much of that lately.”

“No,” Jared shakes his head. “But she’s okay. Everything’s okay.”

Resting his head on Jared’s shoulder, Jensen lets out a relieved breath. “I’m glad you were right.”

Jared grins. “I told you, I’m always right.” He rubs his nose against the soft skin of Jensen’s cheek. “How about we go somewhere else and I show you how hot and sexy you were this afternoon?”

“Hmm,” Jensen moans. He feels the arousal build in his toes, his dick growing hard and his hole starting to leak. “That sounds awesome.”

When Jared picks him up, Jensen wraps his legs around his waist, pressing his lips to the spot beneath his mate’s ear that he knows will drive Jared crazy. Being carried around is still new to Jensen, but it’s such a turn-on that Jared can manhandle him like this, as if he weighs nothing. So, Jensen can live with Jared carrying him, as long as it’s to their bedroom. 

They land on the bed in a heap of pillows and blankets and all of a sudden, the need in Jensen’s body to have Jared inside of him, turns frantic. He pulls off clothes in a hurry, not caring if he rips things apart or not. When they’re finally both naked, Jensen grabs Jared’s hand and brings it to his leaking entrance. 

“C’mon, Jay. Need you… make me ready.”

His mate’s eyes are diluted with lust and want and need, and he drives two of his fingers right into Jensen’s tight entrance. 

“Fuck, yes… Jen…”

“Oh,” Jensen moans, rocking back on the fingers in his ass. 

They rub alongside his sensitive walls, stretching and scissoring, and only occasionally rubbing over his prostate. Fire is burning in his veins and he’s arching his back towards Jared’s touch, his dick begging to be touched. But Jared takes his sweet time prepping Jensen. 

“So beautiful,” Jared breathes. “You should see yourself, Jen, gripping my fingers so hard. So fucking hot, Jen.”

“Jay, now, damn it, now…”

Jensen knows he sounds desperate and already completely fucked out, but he doesn’t care. All he cares about is Jared’s cock deep inside him, knotting, stretching and filling him up so damn good. 

As soon as Jared’s inside and Jensen feels the knot pushing into his body, the frantic need of _rightthefucknow_ fades slowly to _yeahsofuckinggood_. His hands are buried in Jared’s hair, pulling him down into a wet kiss. He licks his way inside and Jared opens up easily, letting Jensen take whatever he wants and needs. 

Jared’s knot is insistently pushing, rubbing, over Jensen’s prostate and when Jared finally wraps his fingers around Jensen’s cock, it only takes two strokes for Jensen to shoot his release all over his chest and Jared’s hand. 

His mate’s name is a silent scream on his lips and his eyes roll back into his head. It’s so intense.

“So good,” Jared moans, rocking his hips inside Jensen’s body. “Feels so damn good.” He sucks a bruise to Jensen’s collar bone when he comes, his face contorted with pleasure. 

They’re both covered in slight sheens of sweat and Jensen licks a wet stripe across Jared’s neck, tasting the saltiness of his mate. 

“Hmm, taste good,” he breathes. 

Jared chuckles lightly. “Tickles.”

Jensen chuckles too and pushes a few strands of Jared’s hair behind his ears. “I wish we could just stay in here forever.”

“Yeah,” Jared breathes, he licks his lips and Jensen feels another wave of want stir in his stomach. “Well, today we can stay in here and I can make you come again.” He grins wickedly. “And again and again.”

Jensen groans, and then Jared leans down to kiss him hard and his head explodes with pleasure. 

  


“You wanna hold her?” Sophia looks at Jensen and even though he kinda wants to say ‘no’, she’s already holding out Lydia to him. 

“Uhm, okay.” 

He takes the baby wrapped tightly in a blanket from her mother’s arms and looks down into amazingly blue eyes staring up at him. She’s so tiny, but she looks like she’s aware of everything around her. He gently caresses her small fingers and she wraps them around his forefingers holding on tight. 

“Amazing,” he whispers, before looking back t Sophia, who’s sitting in her hospital bed, holding Caleb in her arms. Jared and Chad are out, getting themselves a coffee. Jensen smiles broadly at Sophia. “They’re both amazing.”

Sophia laughs. “They are, aren’t they? The world may go to shit, but there’s still some magic in it.”

Jensen looks down at Lydia again. “Yeah.” He sighs. “When will they be changing for the first time?”

“Anywhere between three and six months is possible,” Sophia says. “They can’t control it at first; changing only during the full moon cycle. But when they’re a year or so they learn to control it.”

“Wow,” Jensen says impressed. “That’s pretty awesome.”

“It is,” Sophia says. “So, in a few months you’ll have one of your own.”

Jensen grins. “Yeah. Still terrified of the giving-birth-part though.”

“You’ll be fine, Jen. You’re strong and healthy. You’ll be okay.”

Jensen rubs over his belly and smiles slightly. “You hear that? We’ll be okay.”

Sophia grins at him, before turning serious again. “So, you gonna tell me what’s going on outside these doors? Chad doesn’t tell me squat, thinks I’m too weak to deal with it right now.”

“Are you?” Jensen asks, sighing a little. 

“No,” Sophia says forcefully. “I’m fine and I get outta here in a couple of days anyway, so… just tell me.”

“After New York, LA and San Francisco have decided to separate human and werewolf communities too. There have been some pretty heavy riots, with a lot of burning cars and trashed shop-windows. Thank god there’ve only been a couple of minor injuries, though.” Jensen lets out a deep breath. “They think Chicago is next. However, Seattle, Vancouver and Toronto have announced that they want to keep the mixed communities. I guess we just have to wait and see how it goes.”

“What about the interview?”

Jensen looks down at Lydia, who’s still staring up at him with big eyes. The interview. Gerry had organized an interview with Allison Mack, one of the reporters that had been interested in an exclusive.

“We’re going over to Seattle Daily tomorrow. The interview will be in the next issue.”

“You okay with this?”

“Yeah,” Jensen nods. “I hope it’ll help to keep at least our city together. God, Soph,” he sighs. “I don’t know what I’ll do if they separate humans from werewolves here too. I mean, what about Chris and Steve? They’re my best friends.”

“I know,” Sophia says, reaching out to touch Jensen’s arm. “But the Alpha will know how to prevent this. Jen, the Alpha has always been for a world where we all live together peacefully. He won’t just abandon his point of view because some disgruntled people are demanding it. He will fight and he will win. I’m sure. The world might be changing, but the Alpha will make sure that we can live our lives like before.”

Jensen rocks Lydia in his arms, watching as her eyes slowly close. “I really hope you’re right.”

  


Jensen’s squeezing his hand tightly while they walk through the halls of Seattle Daily. He can feel how nervous his mate is and if Jared’s honest with himself he’s just as nervous. His dad thinks this will work towards uniting their city, humans and werewolves alike. Jared just hopes that it’s true. 

He has seen on the news what happened to the other cities. Seattle’s always been known to be more liberal regarding werewolves than a lot of other US cities, but Jared’s still waiting for the chaos and violence to spill over into Seattle. If that happens, there’s only one option, even if his dad doesn’t like it and has always fought for a shared human/werewolf community. 

Allison Mack is leading them to one of the conference rooms in the back of the large open office. She’s a tiny blonde, dressed neatly with a long black skirt and white blouse. She looks very professional and somehow that calms Jared down. He feels like she’s not just here to get the scoop. 

“So, here we are.” She pushes open a door and waves them in. “Just take a seat. We have coffee, tea and water. What’d you like?”

Jared’s having coffee, while Jensen grumbles over the water he gets. Allison shoots Jared a short amused smile, before sitting down across from them. 

“Well, first of all I wanna say thank you for agreeing to the interview. I know it can’t be easy to come here and talk about your life with me like that.”

“We hope that it’ll calm down the masses a little,” Jared says, attempting a joke that falls flat, when Allison gives him a sympathetic smile. 

“I’ve written down a few questions, why don’t we start with them and go from there?”

Both he and Jensen nod. “That’s fine,” Jensen adds, his voice is strong and steady and shows nothing of the inner nervousness Jared feels coming off his mate. 

“Good.” Allison flips open her notebook. “So, Jensen – I can call you Jensen, right?” Jensen nods. “So, how are you feeling? Must have been a huge adjustment. Only two months ago you were human.”

“It was. I freaked out pretty bad when Jared told me. Couldn’t really wrap my head around it, y’know.”

Allison smiles. “And now?”

“I’m happy. For the first time in a long time, I’m happy.” Jensen smiles at Jared and Jared’s heart skips a beat. He’s still amazed that Jensen can make him feel like this, so in love that it makes him dizzy. “I’m mated to the one person that means everything to me – meant everything to me before he turned me. I just never thought, never believed that Jared and I had a chance, y’know.”

“What about you, Jared? How did you feel when you found out that you turned Jensen into a werewolf?”

Jared takes a deep breath and tells her of his freak out and of his fears, but also of his happiness that Jensen’s his mate. 

“It’s just the best feeling in the world to be mated to the one person made for you.”

“You two definitely seem to love each other a lot,” Allison says and smiles. “It’s really cute.”

Jensen blushes a little and Jared chuckles. “Thanks, I guess.”

Allison laughs. “Did you ever believe that Jensen’s changing would cause such havoc all over the world?”

“Honestly?” Jared asks. “No. Of course I expected some uproar, but nothing like this. Like my father said before, this is nothing that can be forced on any human. So, separating human and werewolf communities seems a little extreme.”

Jensen nods. “Yeah. I mean, we’ve been living together for centuries, living in peace I might add. I don’t know why this has to change. Seattle is a wonderful city, with amazing inhabitants, why destroy that?”

Allison smiles sadly. “I really don’t know. I, for one, think that we lived together quite well.” She sighs. “Anyway, we’ve heard that you’re pregnant. That’s quite a surprise. How are you feeling?”

Jensen smiles. “Good. I feel good. It was a surprise to hear that male werewolves can get pregnant, even if it’s not that common, especially since I’m not a born werewolf. But I can feel it’s true. So,” he looks over at Jared and Jared gives him a huge smile, “We’re happy.”

“Really happy,” Jared adds, squeezing Jensen’s hand. 

“Can I ask how your parents have reacted to that? I mean, I know they’ve played a huge part in the unfortunate incarceration of Jared, right?”

Jared looks over to his mate, feeling him tense in his seat. But when Jensen speaks his voice is strong and steady, not letting on how much the topic upsets him. 

“Well, honestly, my parents have never cared for me. I’ve never been good enough for them. They disowned me when I told them that I had been turned into a werewolf. So, I have to say, I haven’t told them about the pregnancy and if it goes my way, they’ll never see their grandchild. They chose to turn their backs on me. Now they have to bear the consequences.”

Allison nods. “I can fully understand that.” She looks at her notebook. “I guess that’s it with my questions. Do you have anything else to tell our readers?”

“Yeah,” Jared nods, “I hope we can all learn to live with this situation together. We have lived together quite successfully for a long time. It’d be sad to lose that, because of something none of us could have seen coming. We’re only stronger together.”

“Thank you, Jared. That was very nicely said.” Allison gets up from her chair. “It was a pleasure to meet you two. One can see how much you love each other. Good luck and I want a pic of that baby once it’s here.”

“Definitely,” Jensen says, chuckling. “Thanks, Allison.”

They leave the office and walk over to where their car is parked.

“That didn’t go too badly,” Jensen says and Jared shakes his head. 

“No, it really didn’t. Let’s just hope it’ll do something good, at least for Seattle.” 

  


“Hello, Jensen.”

Jensen looks up and sees Dr. Collins smiling at him. “Hey, Doc.”

“Why don’t you follow me? Where’s Jared today?”

“There was an emergency at the hospital. He’s in surgery.”

“Ah, yeah. Stupid work life getting in between him and his pup.”

Jensen laughs. “That’s what he said.”

He runs a hand over his slightly swollen belly. This is his third visit with Dr. Collins and he’s now in his second trimester. It still blows his mind when he watches his slightly swollen belly in the mirror every morning or when he realizes that certain pants don’t fit anymore. 

“How are you feeling, Jensen? Any morning sickness, weird food cravings, dizziness?”

“I’m good. Thank god no morning sickness and the dizziness is practically gone. Lately I’ve been craving chocolate chip pancakes.”

Dr. Collins grins. “Well, that’s not really weird, is it? Just watch how much you eat of that. I know that people always say you have to eat for two now, but too much isn’t good either, especially if it’s not really healthy food. But it’s good that there’s no morning sickness or dizziness. Means you get to enjoy your pregnancy.”

Jensen chuckles. “It’s astounds me, when I see my swollen belly.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty amazing. So, how about we take a look?”

“Sure.”

He follows Dr. Collins over to the examination table and climbs on it, pulling his t-shirt towards his chin to expose his belly. The stick with the gel is cold as always, but now Jensen knows to expect it. 

A second later there’s a thumping sound echoing through the room. Jensen grins and nods whenever Dr. Collins shows him something on the ultrasound. Now, his baby looks more like a baby and not so much like a little ball anymore. There’s a head and two arms and two legs. 

“Everything looks well.” Dr. Collins runs the stick over Jensen’s belly a little more and then all of a sudden there’s a second thumping sound. 

“What’s that?” Jensen asks, frowning. 

“Well that is Jared being right,” Dr. Collins says amusedly. 

“What?!”

“It looks like you’re having twins, Jensen. The second one is a little shy, hiding behind his or her sibling. But the heartbeat tells us that it’s really there.”

“Two? Two babies?”

“Yes two, Jensen.”

Jensen’s head falls back against the examination table. “Wow. That’s… I was so sure that it was just one. I couldn’t…”

“Hey, that’s not a problem. You’re healthy. The babies are healthy. Everything looks just fine.”

Jensen looks down at this belly. “Twins,” he breathes. “Wow.”

“I’m sure Jared will be thrilled,” Dr. Collins says and smiles. “You’ll get used to the idea.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Jensen smiles. “That’s just… it’s a little overwhelming.”

“I fully understand, Jensen. No one expects to have twins.”

When Jensen walks out of the practice fifteen minutes later, his head is still spinning with a thousand thoughts. He can’t wait to tell Jared. 

Unlocking his driver’s side door, he feels the hair at his neck stand up. There’s this stupid feeling of being watched again. He had felt it on and off ever since that night in the alley behind _Kane’s_. He never saw anyone, though, and nothing ever happened. So he’s sure he’s just being paranoid. 

The uproar and havoc holding everyone on the edge of their seats for weeks, had calmed down a little over the last couple of weeks. There is still news about burning cars and there are daily demonstrations, but thankfully, overall, people have calmed down a little. New York, LA and San Francisco are still holding on to their separation ideas, while Chicago has announced that they will stay together, like they are right now. 

Life in Seattle has almost gone back to normal, with most of the backlash happening in other cities. Sometimes you can even forget that anything is even happening out there. 

Jensen’s glad. He isn’t sure the interview helped, but at least people are calming down and that’s what is important. It also means there’s no reason to be paranoid. He shakes his head and gets into his car, chastising himself under his breath. 

He drives to _Kane’s_ , not really being able to shake the feeling of being watched and followed. 

The bar is almost empty, which is not a surprise as it’s not even 6 pm. 

“Jen,” Chris calls. “How was the doctor’s appointment?”

“Good. Everything’s great.” He could tell Chris about having twins, but he wants Jared to be the first to know.

“That’s good. Where’s Jared?”

“Emergency at the hospital. He was needed in surgery.”

“Aww, the poor guy. Missing seeing his kid must suck,” Steve says and throws an arm around Jensen’s shoulder. “Glad everything’s okay though.” He looks at the little bump of Jensen’s belly. “Still can’t believe that your belly is actually growing.”

“Well, the baby has to go somewhere,” Jensen says and snorts. 

“Yeah, but it’s such a foreign concept.”

“I agree,” Chris says. “It’s a little weird to talk to you about being pregnant. Hell it’s weird to talk about that at all.” He shudders. 

“Well, we don’t have to,” Jensen says. “Nobody’s forcing you to.”

“But I’m gonna be the uncle of that kid,” Chris says determined. “So of course I wanna know how he or she is doing. You don’t know the sex yet, do you?”

Jensen shakes his head. “Nope, not yet.”

Jensen stays for a couple of hours, listens to Steve play the guitar and sing, while Chris bitches about whatever it is that is bugging him right now. Jensen learned long ago to tune him out when he starts one of his famous tirades. 

It’s already dark when he makes his way back to his car. Hopefully Jared will already be home by now and they can watch a little TV together and Jared’s chocolate chip pancakes sound awesome too. 

A smile appears on Jensen’s face when he thinks about how awesome it would be to have Jared make him some and maybe even some whipped cream on top. 

There’s a sting at his neck and he reaches up, rubbing his hand over the spot where it hurts. ‘What the…’ he sways on his feet, the world blurring before his eyes. Something’s not right. 

“Help!” he calls, his voice echoing in his mind, but not a sound comes out of his mouth. 

His legs buckle beneath him and then he sinks into darkness. 


	16. The Breath You Take 16/18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a world where werewolves and humans live next to each other but haven’t mated in over five-hundred years, Jensen and Jared met, hit it off and became fast friends. Jared, the son of Seattle pack’s alpha, is already very much in love with Jensen – even though he knows there’s no chance for their happily-ever-after – when a night of drunken sex changes everything both of them believed to be true.

  


Jared pulls off his scrubs. The surgery took seven hours and he’s completely exhausted. All he wants to do now is snuggle up to Jensen and sleep. At least the guy’s stable for now.

He grabs his things and waves at Sonya at the nurses’ station, wishing her a good night. 

The drive to his and Jensen’s apartment is uneventful, but Jared frowns when he pulls up and doesn’t see Jensen’s car parked outside. The windows to their apartment are dark too. It’s half past nine in the evening on a normal workday. Jensen should be home.

After maneuvering his car into the parking space, Jared pulls out his cell phone, dialing Jensen’s number. It rings and rings and then the mailbox picks up. 

What the hell?

Jensen always answers his phone. It could be that he’s already asleep, but then his car should be out front. Jared tries to remember if Jensen said anything about the car needing a check-up. Maybe it’s at the garage. 

He makes his way up to their apartment. It’s completely silent when he unlocks the door and the bedroom door is wide open. The bed is empty, completely untouched. 

Okay, slowly he starts to worry. This isn’t like Jensen. 

He dials another number on his cell phone and waits for Chris to pick up. 

“Hey Jared.”

There’s loud music in the background and Jared can hear people laughing. “Hey Chris, is Jensen with you?”

“What? No. He should be home by now. He was here, but left about an hour ago. Where are you?”

Jared’s heartbeat speeds up. Jensen should be home. He should be here. His car should be out front. “I’m home. He’s not here.”

“Okay, so maybe he’s with Chad and Sophia. I’m sure there’s a very good explanation why he’s not home yet.” Chris’ voice is calm, but Jared knows that his friend’s as freaked out as he is. “Just call them.”

“Yeah, I will. Thanks, Chris.” Jared disconnects the call and dials Chad’s number. “Is Jensen with you?” he asks, as soon as Chad picks up. 

“Well, hello to you too. And no, Jensen’s not here. Why would he be? It’s almost ten in the evening.” Shit, shit, shit. “Jay, is everything okay?”

“No,” Jared says, his head spinning with all the possible scenarios. “I’m home and Jensen’s not here. He was with Chris and Steve, but left _Kane’s_ an hour ago. So he should be home. Damn it Chad, where is he?”

“Calm down, Jay. I’m sure everything’s fine. Maybe his car broke down and now he’s waiting for it to be towed.”

“He’s not answering his cell phone, Chad,” he spits out, the worry slowly driving him crazy. 

“Maybe he doesn’t have reception. Tell you what, how about we go out and search all the possible routes that Jensen could have taken? I’m sure we’ll find him then.”

“Yeah,” Jared says. “That sounds good.” The pit in his stomach grows, though. 

Chad tells him to stay put and that he’ll be there in a few minutes. Jared twirls the cell phone between his hands, before dialing Jensen’s number again. It goes straight to voicemail. This is not good. Something’s happened. Jared knows it. 

He calls Chris again, telling him that Jensen’s not with Chad and Sophia, and that he and Chad will drive across the city searching for Jensen. Chris offers to help and they decide on different search areas and to stay in contact by phone. 

When Chad finally arrives, Jared’s a nervous wreck. 

“Hey, it’ll be okay. We’ll find him.”

Jared nods. “Yeah, okay.”

Chad pulls him into a quick hug, before they get into the car and start driving down the streets Jensen most likely took to get home from _Kane’s_. They criss-cross all over town, always staying in contact with Chris over the phone. 

But there’s nothing. No sign, no anything of Jensen or his car. 

The longer they search the more agitated Jared becomes. Something bad’s happened, something horrible. What if they don’t find him? What if…? Jared shudders. 

Chad squeezes his thigh. His friend’s long stopped saying that they’ll find Jensen. Chris has grown silent too at the other end of the phone. It’s the middle of the night and none of them wants to say the obvious, but Jared knows. 

They’re not going to find Jensen. 

As a last resort they drive home to Jared and Jensen’s apartment. Still no car and the apartment is as empty and silent as Jared had found it before. He rubs a hand over his face and does something he has never done, he prays, begging God to bring Jensen back to him, to make sure that he and the pup will be okay. Jared can’t lose them. 

“We should call the Alpha,” Chad says quietly. “We could do with more people to help with the search.”

Jared just nods, but doesn’t reach for his phone. Chad gives him a tight-lipped smile and grabs his own. Jared doesn’t listen to him talk to his father. He can’t concentrate on anything else but finding Jensen. He needs to find his mate. 

“Your dad wants to meet us at the police station. Says we should file a missing person report.”

Jared pinches his nose. This can’t be happening. “Yeah, okay.”

Chad drives them to the police station, where Chris is already waiting for them. Jared feels sick to his stomach when they make their way up the front steps. Jensen’s missing. Jensen could be dead. No, he refuses to believe that. He knows deep down that he’d feel it if Jensen was dead. 

The officer at the desk is a tiny, dark-haired woman, named Garcia. “How can I help you, Gentlemen?”

“We’d like to file a missing person report,” Chad explains.

“Okay,” she says. “Who are we talking about?”

“His name’s Jensen Ackles and he didn’t come home tonight,” Chris adds, because Jared just can’t seem to speak. 

“How old is Mr. Ackles?”

“He’s thirty,” Chad says. “Has dark blonde hair, green eyes and freckles.”

Officer Garcia smiles. “And is he a vulnerable adult? Any mental health issues or threatening physical illnesses?”

“He’s four months pregnant,” Jared says quietly. 

To her credit, Officer Garcia doesn’t blink an eye. “Okay, is it a risky pregnancy, any complications?”

“No, he’s been doing fine.”

“So what makes you think he’s missing? Maybe he just went to visit some friends or family.”

“What?” Jared asks. “No, he would have told me. Listen, he’s my mate. I know that doesn’t mean anything to humans, but to werewolves it does and he wouldn’t just leave.”

“Mr. Padalecki – you’re Mr. Padalecki, right?” Jared nods. “If I remember right there’s been a lot going on in yours and Mr. Ackles’ lives. Maybe he just needed some time to breathe, time away from all the chaos?”

“No,” Jared says determinedly. “He would have told me. This afternoon he had an appointment with Dr. Collins regarding the pregnancy and then he went to our friends’ bar. He never said a word.”

“He said he wanted to get home to Jared before he left the bar,” Chris interrupts. “He wouldn’t just lie to me and then leave.”

Officer Garcia sighs. “Look, if we don’t have an indication that Mr. Ackles might harm himself or others or that there’s some kind of foul play going on, I can’t file a missing person report. Mr. Ackles is an adult. He’s allowed to go wherever he wants to go and live his life however he wants to.”

“Please, I know something bad happened. He wouldn’t just run away,” Jared says pleadingly. “Please, you have to do something.”

“Mr. Padalecki, I’m sorry. I really am but I can’t help you. I’m sure Mr. Ackles just needs some time and then he’ll be back.”

It feels like the whole floor is being pulled from under his feet and he’s falling with no ground in sight. His head is spinning and he feels like he’s going to be sick. 

“Thank you,” he grits out. 

Turning around, he sees his dad walk into the station. He slowly shakes his head and his dad nods and leads him outside. They drive to his and Jensen’s apartment and it feels wrong. The sun will be up in an hour or two. 

His mom is waiting at the apartment, pushing him into the bedroom and shooing him into the bed. It’s cold and empty and too big without Jensen to snuggle up to. He’s sure that he won’t be able to sleep, but exhaustion claims him eventually and he falls into an uneasy sleep. 

  


Jensen’s head is killing him, his right temple is throbbing with pain and the inside of his mouth feels like something died in it. He can’t remember drinking, but he swears off of doing it again anyway. Blinking his eyes open slowly, bright artificial lights greet him, prompting him to shut them tightly again. 

Is he in the hospital? What happened? Where’s Jared?

“I think he’s waking up.”

The voice is unfamiliar and Jensen squints his eyes open again. There’s a guy in scrubs standing a few feet away from the bed Jensen’s lying on, his face completely hidden behind a mask.

“Where am I?” Jensen’s voice is rough and his throat feels dry and raw. “What’s happening?”

A hand falls on his shoulder and Jensen tenses, turning his head to his other side. It pulls on the skin on his temple and it hurts like a bitch. Jensen guesses that he hit his head somewhere. Another man in scrubs is standing by his head. “Don’t you worry, Jensen. Everything will be okay again. We’ll do everything we can to fix this.”

What the hell? Jensen’s head is still hurting and he has a hard time understanding what the guy is saying. 

“What do you mean? Where am I? Where’s Jared?”

“Ah, your mate. Well, you don’t have to worry about him anymore. In a few weeks, you’ll be free of him again.”

“What are you talking about?” Jensen shouts, trying to sit up only to realize that he’s tied to the bed. It’s then that he feels the light burning feeling against the sensitive skin of his wrists. He looks down at his restraints. 

“That’s right, Jensen. No need trying to change. Your restraints are made out of silver. So, just stay still and don’t fight it.” The other guy hands the one that standing right next to Jensen a syringe. 

“What are you doing?” Jensen asks, fear surging through his veins. The babies. Jared was right, he’s having babies. Oh god, please. “No, please. No! I’m pregnant.”

“I know you believe that Jensen, but human males don’t get pregnant. So, we’ll help you with that too.” He pushes the needle into the thin skin of the crook of Jensen’s arm, getting a full pint of Jensen’s blood. “You should get some more sleep; we’ll be back in a few hours.”

The door to the room closes behind both men and for the first time Jensen takes in his surroundings. It looks like a hospital room, with white walls and two hospital beds and sideboards with medical supplies. There’s no window, though, so Jensen doesn’t know how long he’s been here.

He lays his head back down, hoping, praying that Jared already knows that he’s missing and is searching for him. ‘Please Jay, I need you,’ Jensen thinks. ‘Your babies and I need you.’

  


Jensen’s been missing for three days when Officer Garcia calls Jared. 

It’s been the three worst days in Jared’s life. He has had barely an hour or two of sleep and has run around like a headless chicken for most of the time. He feels lost and empty, like a part of him is just not there anymore. 

Most of the pack is out in Seattle looking for Jensen and Jared has talked to Allison Mack, who posted an article about Jensen’s disappearance. Jared has driven across Seattle’s streets so often he knows them in his sleep. 

Worst of all, is his mother, Sophia and Sarah fussing around him. They’re always there, always trying to get Jared to sleep or to eat. It’s driving Jared crazy. He knows they mean well, but he’s sick and tired of being babied. 

When his cell phone rings, Jared thinks it might be Jensen. It’s been the same thought ever since Jensen went missing. If his cell phone rings the first thought is that it might be Jensen.

It never is. 

“Hello?”

“Hello, this is Officer Garcia of Seattle PD. Am I talking to Mr. Padalecki?”

Jared’s heart is beating a mile a minute. Why would Seattle PD call him unless something bad had happened? Maybe they’ve found Jensen? Maybe…? “Yes, this is he.” 

“Mr. Padalecki, would you please come to the police station. We’ve found Mr. Ackles’ car.”

They found Jensen’s car, but not Jensen. “Yes, of course I’ll be right there.”

He tells his mom where he’s going and grabs his wallet and keys, then he’s out the door. Half an hour later he’s running up the steps to the police department. 

Officer Garcia is sitting behind her desk, talking to an older guy with dark hair and an angular jaw. She looks up when Jared storms inside and waves him over, motioning for him to sit down. 

“Mr. Padalecki, this is Detective Anderson.”

Jared completely ignores the guy in favor of asking, “Where did you find his car?”

Officer Garcia sighs. “At a gas station about two hours out of town. The owner called when he noticed the car this morning and no one was around.”

“Two hours out of town? What? Why?”

“Mr. Padalecki, the sheriff and his men found blood in the trunk, blood that belongs to Mr. Ackles. It was only a small amount, but where we found it we also found some of his hair. So we have reason to believe that Mr. Ackles was put into the trunk of his car,” Detective Anderson says calmly. 

“What?! What do you mean put in the trunk of his car?”

“We believe that Mr. Ackles might have been kidnapped.”

Jared shakes his head. He’s furious. Pushing up from his seat, he leans over Officer Garcia’s desk. “So, now you believe he’s been kidnapped? He’s been gone for three days. I’ve been telling you that it’s not like him, but you just shoot me down. I swear to God, if he’s hurt I will make you pay. This is on you.”

“Mr. Padalecki…” Detective Anderson starts, but Jared cuts him off. 

“I don’t care what you have to say for yourself or for the Seattle PD. I wanna know what you’re doing to find my mate and get him back.”

“We’ve been running tests on the car and there are four sets of fingerprints. One belongs to Mr. Ackles, another one belongs to you. The other two are, as of now, unidentified. Are there any other people who may have driven Mr. Ackles’ car or has it been to the garage lately?” the detective asks, flipping open a notebook. 

“No,” Jared shakes his head. “Only Jensen and I drive that car and it hasn’t been in the garage for at least a year.”

“Okay, so then there’s a chance that the fingerprints are from the kidnappers.”

Jensen. Kidnapped. Those two words are echoing in Jared’s head. Who would kidnap Jensen? Why? They haven’t demanded a ransom, so it’s not about money. It has to be about something else. But about what?

“Has your mate mentioned anything weird? Like people following him or if someone had threatened him?”

“Well there was this incident a few weeks back when he got into a fight with another werewolf. Seattle PD arrested the guy though,” Jared says. 

“We’re certain that Mr. Ackles was the only werewolf in the car.”

“Humans? But why?” Jared asks. “I don’t get it. Why kidnap him and not demand a ransom? What do they want with Jensen?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Padalecki. I wish I could tell you that.”

Jared looks over to Officer Garcia, who’s been silent while the detective asked Jared all those questions. She actually looks a little guilty. Well, she should, if she hadn’t dismissed him so easily, then they might have found Jensen already. 

“I promise you, Mr. Padalecki,” Detective Anderson says. “We’ll do everything we can to get your mate back.”

  


Jared and Jensen’s apartment is packed with their friends and families and Jared’s been bringing them up to speed with what he learned at the police station. 

“They found Jensen’s car,” Jared says slowly. “And now they’re sure that Jen’s been kidnapped.”

Sophia gasps, clinging to Lydia, who’s sleeping in her arms. “Oh my god.”

“It’s not that we didn’t know something bad had happened,” Chris growls. “As if Jensen would ever have just disappeared like that.”

“But why? What do they want? I mean they haven’t demanded a ransom,” Jared says, rubbing a hand over his face. “Who would kidnap Jensen?”

“What about his ex, Ian?” Chad asks. “Jensen said that he was in his office waiting for him one day, right?”

“Well, I wouldn’t put it past him,” Chris grumbles. “He’s an asshole.”

Jared nods. “Yeah, it could be. The police also want to know if Jensen said anything about weird things happening or something.”

“Well, there’s one thing,” Sophia says. “Weeks back when we had your ‘welcome home out of jail party’, Jensen and I went outside and there was this noise. It was like someone was watching us.”

“What?! And you’re only telling us now,” Jared asks, baffled. 

“Well, we didn’t know what it meant. I’d totally forgotten about it,” Sophia justifies. “And Jensen never said that anything like that happened again.”

“It’s okay, Soph,” Chad soothes, rocking Caleb in his arms. 

“I say we definitely need to tell the police about that,” Jared’s dad says. “Also, that they might want to talk to Jensen’s ex-boyfriend. Did Jensen ever say what the conversation in his office was about?”

“Just that Ian came by the hospital to tell Jensen that he’d moved to Seattle and was now working for Summers & Harris,” Jared says. “God, if he’s had anything to do with this, I’ll rip him apart.”

“We all will,” Chad agrees.

  


The next morning Jared makes his way across the street. He’s on his way to Summers & Harris. The idea came to him in the middle of the night, when he was lying alone in his bed, missing Jensen like a limb and worrying about his mate and his pup. 

He strides across the lobby of the luxurious skyscraper and takes the elevator up to the 65th floor. It’s where Ian’s office is. He found that out when he called Summers & Harris earlier.

Ignoring the protests of the girl at the desk in front of the door that says ‘Ian Cameron, solicitor’, Jared pushes open the door to the office. Ian looks up and a wicked smile forms on his face when he seems to recognize Jared. 

“It’s okay, Mary,” he says to his secretary and waits for her to close the door again. “Mr. Padalecki, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

Jared feels anger burning in his veins. He’s sure Ian’s read the article Allison wrote about Jensen’s disappearance. It was hard to miss. 

“Where is he?”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“Where is Jensen?” Jared yells, walking over to Ian and grabbing him by his shirt. He slams him into the nearest wall. “Tell me what you did to him.”

Ian grins smugly. “Did you lose your mate, Jared? Well, maybe you should have watched him more closely. But no, I don’t know where Jensen is. And now, you will let me go, or do I need to tell you that what you’re doing is trespassing and assault?”

Jared lets go of Ian. “If something happens to him or my kid…”

Ian holds up his hand and says coldly, “I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I were you. I’m not sure you know who you’re talking to, but be sure to know that I’ll bury you beneath so many lawsuits you won’t be able to ever live a normal life again if you don’t leave now.”

This is Ian’s terrain, Jared knows it and he’s smart enough to know when the battle’s lost. A lost battle doesn’t mean he lost the war, though. He walks out of the office without another word, only to hear Ian call after him, “Good luck with finding Jensen.”

Jared knows, Ian has something to do with Jensen’s kidnapping. Now he just has to prove it. 

  


Jensen blinks his eyes open. His head is pounding and his lips are dry. He knows he’s dehydrated. They might feed him once or twice a day, but one bottle of water with it is not enough. His body has to give up a lot of its nutrients to the babies. 

God, he hopes the babies are okay. He wishes he could touch his belly, reassure his kids that he’ll do anything to keep them safe. 

Judging by the meals and how dehydrated he is, he’s been here for a week or even a little longer. He still doesn’t know what it is they want from him. Sometimes he hears them talking and saying that it’s not working. It’s just that he doesn’t know what they’re talking about. They have taken more blood from him, which doesn’t help with his wellbeing. 

He prays that Jared will find him, that someone will find him. He feels tears building behind his eyes, but he swallows them down. He can’t spare them. He has to do everything to keep him and the babies alive. 


	17. The Breath You Take 17/18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a world where werewolves and humans live next to each other but haven’t mated in over five-hundred years, Jensen and Jared met, hit it off and became fast friends. Jared, the son of Seattle pack’s alpha, is already very much in love with Jensen – even though he knows there’s no chance for their happily-ever-after – when a night of drunken sex changes everything both of them believed to be true.

  


Jared storms through the hallways of the police department and jerks open the door to Detective Anderson’s office when he gets there. The detective looks up from the files on his desk and glares at Jared. 

“Tell me you got something!” Jared demands. 

“Jared…”

“Don’t you Jared me, Jake.” He leans over Anderson’s desk, right into his face. “It’s been weeks, four weeks to be exact. Four weeks since my mate went missing; was kidnapped and all you do is stall and hide behind your files. You wanna tell me why that is, Jake?” He spits out the detectives’ name icily.

“Close the door, Jared.” Jared scowls, but closes the door nonetheless. “Now, take a seat and listen. Listen carefully.” Anderson leans forward, resting his forearms on his desk and stares at Jared intently. “I did a background check on Ian Cameron, like you asked me to – off the record I might add. Nothing came up. Yeah, he may be an asshole, but that doesn’t mean he had anything to do with Jensen’s kidnapping.” Jared wants to say something, but Anderson stops him with a raised hand. “This is the official stand of Seattle PD.”

“What’s the unofficial stand?” Jared asks slowly. 

“I can’t tell you everything, Jared, because I don’t know everything. But if you ask me, I think that a lot of powerful people are behind Jensen’s kidnapping. I don’t know why or what they think to accomplish with that, but I know a good organized crime when I see one.”

Jared lets out a shaky breath. “What does that mean? Does that mean Jensen’s already dead?”

Anderson gives him a tight smile. “Well, you told me once that you’d feel it if your mate was dead. So, you tell me, Jared.”

Jared’s heart clenches hard and the pit in his stomach makes him nauseous. The feeling is nothing new; it’s been there ever since Jensen had gone missing. But he knows that it’d be worse if Jensen were dead. 

“I think he’s still alive.”

Anderson nods. “That’s what I think too. So how about we focus on that instead of ripping each other’s throats out.”

Jared looks down at his hands. “I’m going crazy, Jake. I’m barely sleeping, not really eating either. I can’t concentrate on anything. I just need my mate back. I know humans don’t really get it, but he’s the one person that makes life worth living.”

“I know,” Anderson says. “Listen Jared, I’m going to tell you something that no one besides me, my parents and the Alpha knows. I hope that it stays that way.” Jared frowns and nods. “My dad – well, the man I call ‘dad’ anyway – is a werewolf. He and my mom have been in a relationship for years and he raised me with her. He decided to live a human life for her, because he loves her more than anything.”

“But she didn’t change?” Jared asks, a little stunned.

“Not for years,” Anderson replies. “Until a few weeks ago.”

“She changed?” Jared’s totally confused now. “Why didn’t you… why didn’t anybody tell me?”

“Well, it happened recently and you weren’t really in the right frame of mind. And my parents don’t want the publicity. That’s why we asked the Alpha to keep it under wraps.” Anderson lets out a deep breath. “But I’m telling you this, because I know what it means to have a mate. I see it in my parents every day. So, I promise you Jared, I’ll do whatever I can to get Jensen back to you.”

“That means there are other couples, right?” Jared says baffled. “It’s not just Jensen and I.”

“You’ll have to talk to the Alpha, because I don’t know.”

“I should…” Jared motions at the door. “I’ll let you back to work. You’ll call me, right?”

“Of course.”

Jared’s head is spinning with the new information as he makes his way back to his car. There are others like Jensen and he. What does that mean? The world has already changed. But what happens when this gets out? 

He drives to his father’s office, where he finds his dad and Mark having a meeting, when he enters his dad’s office without knocking and without listening to Linda’s protests. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

The Alpha motions for Linda to close the door and then points at a chair. “Sit down, JT.”

“No! I want to know why you didn’t tell me. Who else knows this? Does Jensen’s kidnapping have anything to do with this?”

“JT! Sit down!” his father bellows and Jared bites his teeth together, fighting down his inner Alpha and sits down next to Mark. “So, I’m guessing Anderson told you.” Jared nods. “Damn, we asked him to keep quite.”

“What the hell is going on here, Dad?” Jared demands. 

His dad exchanges a look with Mark, who shrugs and says, “It’s your call, Alpha.”

A sigh escapes his dad’s mouth and he rubs a hand over his face. “Jensen’s not the only one that has been turned into a werewolf. He was the first one we knew of, but he wasn’t the only one. There have been others, in our pack and in other packs.”

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Because we were trying to keep the public from freaking out. We had already enough of a commotion on our hands because of what happened to Jensen.”

“Well, good job, Dad!” Jared spits out. “The world’s gone to shit, no matter what.”

“Yeah, I know that, Jared,” his dad growls. “And I’ve done everything I can to keep this pack safe and running. I’ve done everything to assure that Seattle won’t end up like New York or LA.”

“Jared, the Alpha did what was right for the pack,” Mark says calmly. “We felt we could control this better if it was just you and Jensen the media was focusing on.”

“So what, you just used us? You don’t know what it did to Jensen to be in the spotlight like this, to have his life dissected like this.”

“JT, enough!” his dad chastised. “I did what I had to do and when you’re Alpha you will do what you have to do.”

“I don’t get you,” Jared says, shaking his head. He feels betrayed; put on display by his own father, just so that others could be safe and live their lives. “I’m your son and you used me. Now, my mate is missing, because of you trying to keep everyone else safe.”

“Son, the pack…”

“I don’t care about the pack!” Jared yells, jumping out of his chair so quickly that it falls to the floor. “I care about my mate and my unborn pup.”

“Jared!” his father exclaims. “You don’t mean that.”

Jared presses his lips together tightly and stares at his father. “All I want is my mate back and when that happens, me, Jensen and the pup will leave.”

“Jared, son…” His dad looks at him shocked. “I love you. We can fix this. I don’t wanna lose you.”

“You should have thought about that before you used us to become the media’s puppets,” Jared hisses. 

He leaves, feeling like his heart has been ripped out of his chest for the thousandth time in the last four weeks. Never had he imagined that his dad would do something like this. 

  


Jensen’s shaking and his body is covered in cold sweat. He’s running a fever. His body is fighting against whatever it is that they’ve been pumping into his veins for the last how many days. He can’t remember them giving him shots, but he can see the puncture marks. They’re feeding him more properly now, giving him food and water at least three times a day. But it doesn’t help with the fever. Jensen’s exhausted, sick, and tired of being strapped to the bed and experimented on. 

He knows that he’ll die here. It must have been weeks since they brought him here and nobody has come to rescue him. 

Jared. He wishes he could see his mate one last time, just once to tell him that he’s sorry that he couldn’t protect the pups, that he isn’t the mate Jared deserves. He feels tears mixing with the sweat and he swallows the sobs, when he hears the door to his room opening. They don’t need to know that he’s awake and crying. 

“You heard him.”

“I just wish we could try something different. I know we’re this close to finding a solution.”

“Doesn’t matter now. And there’ll be others. Now, help me carry him outside.”

What are they talking about? Is that it? Will they kill him now? 

They pull a hood over his head and put a silver collar around his neck, before loosening his wrist cuffs. They carry him outside and he can feel cold air on his face. It makes him shiver. Two doors open and then he’s put down on a hard metallic floor. It’s completely dark under the hood and he doesn’t want to alert his kidnappers that he’s awake by moving, so he doesn’t really know where he is until an engine starts and they start moving. 

Where are they taking him? If they’d want to kill him, they would have done it by now, right?

He lays his hand on his belly, slowly rubbing over it lightly. The tears are burning hot on his cheeks. It’s the first time in weeks that he’s been able to touch his babies. God, he hopes, wishes that maybe someone upstairs will have mercy and they’ll be found now. 

The car stops, the doors open and Jensen’s pushed out, falling on the hard ground. Then the car drives away with screaming tires. 

“What the hell?” someone exclaims and then Jensen feels hands on him, pulling the hood off. He blinks open his eyes and it takes a lot of effort. When his vision finally focuses, he recognizes Jeff Morgan, Jared’s former attending. “Holy… Get Dr. Padalecki! Now!!” He looks back down. “It’s okay, Jensen. You’re safe now. We’re going to take good care of you.”

Jensen can feel all of his strength draining out of him and he closes his eyes again, welcoming the darkness that surrounds him. 

  


“When I get Jensen back we’re leaving. This is not up for discussion, Chad,” Jared argues, rolling his coffee mug between his hands. The hospital, or more exactly Dr. Meyers, had excused him from active duty at the hospital when they heard about Jensen going missing, but she still had him filling out forms and doing paperwork. 

“I get it, Jay. I do. What your dad did was shitty, but you can’t just leave. You’re our future Alpha,” Chad reasons, kicking his legs up on the couch of the break room. 

Jared shakes his head. “I’m not. Not anymore. I can’t, Chad.”

“Jared,” Chad looks at him intently, “you can’t be serious. This is… you’re our Alpha, Jared.”

“I’m sorry, but I need to do what’s best for me and for Jensen. That’s all I can think about right now.” 

His beeper goes off a second later. He frowns when he looks at it. “Morgan’s paging me.”

“Morgan?” Chad asks surprised. “What does he want?”

Jared shrugs. “Guess I’ll have to go and find out.”

They walk down the hallways when Alona comes running their way. “It’s Jensen, Jared. They’ve found Jensen.”

Jared stops dead in his tracks. Jensen. Oh god, thank you. He runs through the hospital, Chad and Alona on his heels, until he comes to a stop in the ER of the human wing. 

“Where is he?”

Morgan pushes his head out of one of the examination rooms. “In here.”

Jared makes his way over, all of a sudden wary of the state Jensen will be in. His mate is on the examination table, his skin pale and covered in sweat. He’s lost some weight, but at least there are no open wounds and he’s not bleeding. His belly is bigger than Jared can remember. Does that mean the pup is okay?

He rushes over to Jensen’s side, grabbing his mate’s hand. It’s hot, the skin practically burning. “You’re okay. You’re safe now. We’ll take good care of you.” He feels the tears he had been holding back flow freely now. “It’ll be okay. The pup will be okay.”

“Pups, Jay,” Jensen whispers weakly, blinking his eyes open slowly. “We’re having twins.”

Jared lets out a sob and gives Jensen a shaky smile. “Pups, okay.”

“Jared, we need to work here.” Morgan’s hand is warm on his shoulder and Jared nods. 

“Jen, they’ll take good care of you, okay. I’ll be waiting outside.”

Jensen slowly nods. “I love you.”

“God, I love you too.”

He goes outside and sees Chad waiting for him. “He’s alive.”

Chad nods. “Good.” They look at each other for a long time, before Chad pulls Jared into a tight hug. “They got him. Just let them work.”

  


It’s three hours later when Jeff Morgan finally comes into the waiting room. Chad had called Sophia, who had called Chris and Steve, Jared’s parents, and Mike and Tom. Now, they were all sitting in the waiting room, waiting for news on Jensen. 

Jared’s not sure how he feels about his dad being here. But he’s the Alpha and Jared can’t really tell him to leave. Also, this isn’t the time to cause a scene. Jensen and the pups are his first priority, everything else is just not as important. 

“He’ll be okay,” is the first thing Morgan says and Jared’s grateful. He’s not sure he’d been able to listen to all the medical blah blah, while not knowing if Jensen will make it or not. “He’s running a fever, but I’m certain that we’ll be able to get it under control soon.”

“Really?” Morgan nods. “And the pups?”

“You might want to talk to Dr. Collins about that. He’s the expert. We’ve set Jensen up in his own room and I’ve ordered hospital security to guard it.”

“What happened, Jeff?” Jared asks. 

“There was a white van with a blacked-out plate, they kicked Jensen out of the back and then drove off again.”

Jared nods. It’s not important right now, at least not to him. What’s important is that Jensen and the pups are going to be okay. 

“Can I see him?”

“Of course. Follow me.”

Jared turns to his friends and his parents. He can still barely look his father in the face, but he knows he cares for Jensen in his own fucked-up way. 

“You should go home. I’ll call you.”

He follows Morgan through the hallways. “Listen, Jared. We’ve found puncture wounds in Jensen’s arms and he’s lost some blood. We’re giving him a blood transfusion, to be on the safe side. What we don’t know is what they’ve given him. We’ve taken blood samples, but it’ll be a while before they come back.”

“But you said he’ll be okay.”

“And that’s what I believe, Jared,” Morgan says. “I just want you to know that they might have given Jensen something.”

“You mean drugs?”

“I mean drugs or something like that. So, we need to prepare for potential withdrawal symptoms.”

Jared nods. “Yeah, okay.”

Morgan pushes open the door and Jared sees Dr. Collins standing next to Jensen’s bed. Jensen’s eyes are closed and he seems to be asleep. “How are the pups?”

The doctor turns around and smiles at Jared. “Their heartbeats are elevated, but their vitals are satisfactory. I believe they will be fine. See, Jared, werewolf pups are a lot more resilient than human children. Their wolf forms have already developed in the first five months. So that means, even if there was something wrong, we could have Jensen change and they would change with him and we could get them out then. But right now, there’s no reason for that. We’re monitoring them closely, though.” He points at the machine attached to Jensen’s belly, showing the babies’ heartbeats. 

Jared feels all the tension fall off his shoulders. “So, they’re all okay?”

Morgan and Dr. Collins nod. “Yes, Jared. They’re okay and we’ll make sure it stays that way.”

Sitting down next to Jensen’s bed, he wraps his hands around one of his mate’s hands. It’s warm, hot even, but to Jared it means that Jensen’s still alive and fighting. He believes Morgan when the doctor says that the fever will fade in time. 

He hears the door to Jensen’s room close and presses his lips against the hot skin of his mate’s hand. “I was so worried. I thought I’d go crazy. But I never lost hope. I knew you’d come back to me and I promise to protect you better from now on. We’ll leave and start over. Maybe a cabin in the woods, where our pups can grow up without the media watching them like a hawk. What do you think? Would you like that? God, Jen, I’m so glad you’re okay. I love you. I love you so much.”

  


Jensen wakes and for a moment, he thinks that seeing Jared earlier was just a dream, but then he sees him sitting in a hospital chair, one hand entangled with Jensen’s and the other lying on Jensen’s swollen belly. His head resting on the side of Jensen’s bed and Jensen runs a hand slowly through Jared’s hair. 

“Jay,” he whispers. “Wake up.” He still feels tired and exhausted, but the fever seems to be gone. He doesn’t feel like his blood is burning in his veins anymore. 

Jared stirs and when he opens his eyes a huge smile forms on his face. “Hey, you’re awake.”

Jensen smiles. “Barely. I’m thirsty.”

Jared reaches for a cup of water and feeds it to Jensen slowly. “So, how are you feeling? Your fever’s gone down.”

“Like a truck rolled over me.”

Jared chuckles. “You’ll be okay. The fever took a toll on your body.”

Jensen frowns. “What about the pups? Are they…?”

Jared runs a hand through Jensen’s hair and he leans into the touch. “They’re okay. They’re strong and stubborn. Dr. Collins says they’ll be fine.”

Jensen lets out a deep breath. “I hoped, but I couldn’t be sure.”

“It’s over, Jen. It’s all over.” Jared kisses him softly. “I promise, you’re safe now.” He smiles, rubbing his nose over the stubble on Jensen’s cheek. “I need to tell Morgan that you’re awake.”

“Morgan?” Jensen asks a little surprised. 

“Yeah, he was there when they kicked you out of the van and he insisted on being your attending.” Jared grins. “He can be really scary when he wants something.” Jensen smiles tiredly and Jared presses a kiss to the back of Jensen’s hand, while he pushes the call button. 

A moment later, a nurse is making her way into the room. She smiles a little when she sees that Jensen’s awake and goes to get Dr. Morgan. Jensen can’t really take his eyes away from Jared’s face. 

“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

“Shh,” Jared soothes. “It’s okay. It’s over.”

There’s a knock on the door and Jensen looks over Jared’s shoulder to see Jeff Morgan standing there. 

“Well Jensen, I have to say it’s good to see you awake,” he says and makes his way over. “How are you feeling?”

“Tired.”

Morgan nods. “That’s understandable. You’ve lost some blood and were running a high fever when you got here.” The doc checks Jensen’s vitals and examines him closely for some time, before he seems satisfied and nods. “Fever’s gone down and your vitals are good.”

Jensen sighs, feeling relieved. “Do you… I mean, they gave me shots… Do you know what they gave me?”

Morgan gives him a tight smile. “We’ve taken some blood samples, but I can’t say what it was, because whatever they gave you was nothing I or any other doctor in this hospital have ever seen.”

“But what were they trying to accomplish?” Jared asks, squeezing Jensen’s hand tightly. 

“I don’t know,” Morgan says. “I wish I could tell you more.”

“They said they wanted to set me free,” Jensen says. “Told me that human men don’t get pregnant and that I wouldn’t have to worry about that soon.”

Jared shakes his head slowly. “What does that mean?”

“You should tell Detective Anderson all of that,” Morgan says. “Maybe he’ll be able to make more sense of it.” He squeezes Jensen’s shoulder. “I’m gonna leave you two alone now. You need anything, you just push the call button, okay?” 

Jensen smiles and nods. “Thanks, Doc.” Morgan leaves and Jensen winks at Jared, scooting a little to the side. “C’mere.” Jared frowns a little, but then climbs on the bed with Jensen, wrapping him up in his arms. “That’s good. Missed you.”

“I missed you too, so much. Thought I’d go crazy without you.”

“I’m here,” Jensen reassures him. “How about we take a nap and when we wake up you tell me everything I’ve missed?”

“Hmm,” Jared hums. “Sounds good.”

Jared’s hand is lying on Jensen’s belly and he lays his own hand over it. They’re okay, all of them are okay. 

  


There’s a knock on the door and Jensen opens his eyes, smiling when he sees Sophia standing in the doorway. Jared’s asleep next to Jensen, his head pressed firmly against Jensen’s neck. It’s been three days since he woke up in the hospital and Jensen knows Jared only sleeps when he’s here with Jensen. 

Sophia smiles and walks inside the room. “Hey,” she says quietly. “I didn’t know you were asleep. It’s 3 in the afternoon.”

“He needs the rest.”

“He barely slept while you were missing. He was completely out of his mind. We all were.”

“He told me that I was missing for four weeks. It felt longer to me,” Jensen admits. 

“I’m just glad that you’re okay,” Sophia says, touching his hand lightly. “Any news on the investigation?”

“The police came by this morning. Detective Anderson seems competent enough, but I don’t think they’ll find whoever did it.”

“Why do you think that?” Sophia asks. 

“It was planned, Soph. Someone planned this. The two guys that held me prisoner took their orders from someone else, they said as much. So, I think if the police would find something, they would have by now.”

Sophia nods. “Maybe, but it doesn’t matter right now. All that matters is that you and the pups are okay.”

Jensen grins, running his hands through Jared’s hair soothingly when his mate stirs. “Pups, can you believe that?”

“Actually, I can,” Sophia laughs quietly. “It’s awesome.” She lays her hand on Jensen’s belly carefully. “It’s just sad that we won’t see them so often now that you and Jared are moving.”

Jensen frowns. “What? What are you talking about?”

Sophia grins sheepishly. “Jared didn’t say anything?”

“No. Why would we move?”

“You need to talk to him, Jen. I’m gonna leave and let you two talk.” She presses her lips against his temple. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

When Sophia is gone, Jensen looks down at Jared sleeping quietly. Why would Jared want to move? He presses a soft kiss to his mate’s temple. 

“Jay, wake up. We need to talk.”

Jared stirs and then blinks his eyes open. “What?”

“Sophia was just here and told me that you wanna move. Why haven’t you said anything?”

Jared groans. “That woman just can’t keep her mouth shut.”

“She only mentioned it because she thought you told me about your plans. Which I think is a normal assumption. So the question is, why haven’t you told me?”

“I wanted to wait til you’re better.”

“Well, I’m better now,” Jensen says, raising his eyebrows in question. “Now tell me.”

Jared sits up, running a hand through his hair. “There were other people who got changed after you.”

“What?” Jensen asks surprised. 

“My dad kept it a secret. Thought the media was easier to deal with if it was just us they focused on,” Jared explains. 

Jensen’s heart sinks. “So they used us?”

Jared nods. “Yeah, to protect the other couples. I only found out because Detective Anderson’s mother is one of the newly turned werewolves and he told me.”

“What did your dad say?”

“That he did what he had to do to keep the pack safe.”

Jensen snorts. “Well, I can see how well that worked.” He cups Jared’s face between his hands. “But Jay, you’re the future Alpha. You can’t just leave, no matter how much your dad fucked up.”

“I’m not going to be Alpha.” Jared grabs his hands. “I love you and the pups and your safety and wellbeing are my priority. I would never forgive myself if I took over as Alpha and something happened to you because I was more concerned with the pack’s wellbeing.”

“Jared,” Jensen says softly. “You always wanted to be Alpha.”

“No anymore.” Jared shakes his head. “Not since we mated. I wanna be your mate, your Alpha, and that’s all I wanna be. So, I thought… there’s the cabin in the woods, about three hours from Seattle. It’s up in Canada and belonged to my mom’s parents. She gave me the keys when she heard. There’s a little town nearby and our friends could still come and visit. But it’s all up to you, if you don’t wanna leave, we’ll stay.”

Jensen smiles gently. “You’re a little stupid, y’know? Of course I’ll go with you and a cabin sounds awesome right about now. Just you, me and the pups.”

“I love you, Jen.” Jared beams at him. 


	18. The Breath You Take 18/18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a world where werewolves and humans live next to each other but haven’t mated in over five-hundred years, Jensen and Jared met, hit it off and became fast friends. Jared, the son of Seattle pack’s alpha, is already very much in love with Jensen – even though he knows there’s no chance for their happily-ever-after – when a night of drunken sex changes everything both of them believed to be true.

  


There’s a knock at the door and Jensen turns around, one hand on his six months pregnant belly. It’s been five weeks since he woke up in the hospital. Five long weeks that’s made him cranky and annoyed that he had to stay in a hospital bed for so long. Dr. Collins wanted to make sure that the babies were in the best possible condition before Jensen could be allowed to go home. 

Detective Anderson gives him a small smile. “I didn’t know they released you.”

“Finally,” Jensen says, grinning and then turns serious again. “Can I help you, Detective?”

“I just wanted to tell you that I won’t stop looking. Whoever did this? I’ll find them.”

Jensen gives him a grateful smile. “Thank you. That means a lot.”

“I’ve heard that you’re moving out of town.” 

Jensen nods. “Yeah, Dr. Collins wanted us to stay until the babies were born, but…” he looks at the detective intently, “Honestly, I don’t know if I can live here anymore. I know it was Jared’s idea to leave, but just the thought of going out there alone. It scares me.”

Anderson nods. “I can understand that and I wish I could tell you that you’re safe here. But I think moving might be the best idea. Just, if there’s anything you remember or there’s something you think is weird in any way, you call me. Okay?”

“Thanks, I will.”

They shake hands. “Good luck with the pups,” Anderson says and then he’s gone, leaving Jensen to pack his bag. 

“I really wish you’d stay until the pups are born.”

Jensen turns around. “I’ll be fine. Jared says there’s a clinic nearby that mostly deals with werewolves, so… I’m okay.”

Dr. Collins sighs. “You’re a stubborn son of a bitch. I guess that’s where the pups get it from.”

Jensen laughs. “They’re totally taking after Jared, kicking me in my guts all the time.”

Now Dr. Collins laughs too. He holds out his hand. “Well Jensen, it was a pleasure to meet you and I hope you’ll send me some pictures once the pups are born.”

Jensen shakes it. “I will and the pleasure was all mine.”

“All of the paperwork is filed and you’re free to go.” Jared rushes into the room and stops, looking surprised at seeing Dr. Collins here. “You okay?”

“I’m fine. Dr. Collins was just saying goodbye.”

“Oh,” Jared grins. “Thanks, Doc. For everything.”

Dr. Collins smiles. “Just call me if you need anything, Jensen. Good to see you, Jared.” 

Then he’s gone and Jared wraps his arms tightly around Jensen’s body. “Hey.”

Jensen grins. “Hey. We ready?”

“So ready,” Jared says, rubbing his hands over Jensen’s belly and stopping when one of the kids kicks. Jensen had started to feel them a little while ago but Jared had only felt them twice now. “Wow, this is still so amazing.”

“They’re playing soccer with my bladder, so it’s not that amazing,” Jensen grumbles playfully. “I need to go to the bathroom, once again.”

When they’re finally in the car, Jensen feels sweat breaking out on his face. His heart is beating a mile a minute and his fingers are gripping the upholstery tight. 

“You okay?” Jared asks, looking concerned and Jensen nods. 

“Yeah… I’m fine. Just drive.”

“Jen, if you need a minute…”

“Just drive, Jared!” 

His mate nods, starts the engine and pulls out of the parking lot. The drive through the city makes Jensen nervous and tense. He only starts to relax when Jared pulls into the parking lot of their apartment building and the front door falls shut behind them. He lets out a deep breath. 

“Better?”

Jensen nods, grabbing Jared’s hand. “Yeah, thanks.”

They make their way upstairs and Jensen smiles when he sees the garland across the apartment door welcoming him home. Jared grins. 

“Sophia did it, thought you might like it.”

“It’s great.”

They walk inside and Jensen jumps a little when all his friends come forward, screaming ‘Surprise’ at him. After his heart calms down a little, he laughs, though. Their apartment is almost empty, Jared had already moved all their things to the cabin in the last few weeks and it feels a little weird to see it like this. He’s lived here for four years. But Sophia doesn’t let him think about it for too long and just pulls him into the empty room.

“You didn’t think we’d let you leave without a decent goodbye party, right?”

Jensen grins. “No, I guess not.”

There’s a buffet on the kitchen counter and Sophia pulls him over to the chocolate cake. “You need to taste this. It’s a new creation of mine.” She heaves a huge piece on a paper plate and pushes it into Jensen’s hands. “Enjoy.”

It’s delicious and Jensen closes his eyes when the chocolaty taste bursts across his tongue. “Awesome.”

Sophia beams. “Good.”

“Hey, Jenny!”

Jensen rolls his eyes. “What’s up, asshole?”

Chris throws his arm across Jensen’s shoulders. “I can’t believe you’re moving away.”

Jensen looks at him. “We’ll still see each other, Chris. It’s only a little over three hours away.”

“I know. It’s still weird to know that you won’t be able to just drop by _Kane’s_.” Chris sighs. “I guess I got used to your ass being around.”

Jensen chuckles. “I love you too, jerk.”

Steve comes over to them, pushing in between. “Let’s just have a great last night and we’ll see Jensen again when the pups are there at the latest.”

Chris grumbles something incomprehensible and Jensen pushes a fork full of chocolate cake between his lips to shut him up. He grins when Chris flips him the bird. 

He walks over to where Jared, Chad, Mike and Tom are talking softly. Jared’s carrying Lydia, while Caleb bounces on his father’s knees. 

“Hey, you have to try Soph’s chocolate cake. It’s amazing.” Jared grins up at him and opens his mouth when Jensen holds out a bite for him. 

“Hmm, it’s great. Soph, your cake is awesome,” Jared says loudly and Sophia blows him a kiss.

There’s a knock at the door and Jensen walks over to answer it. Sherry is standing in the hallway and behind her are Jeff, Sarah, Kyle and Laura. 

“Hey,” she says softly. “We couldn’t just let you leave without saying goodbye.”

Jensen smiles. “C’mon in. Sophia made an awesome chocolate cake.”

“Cake!” the pups scream and run off towards the kitchen. 

Sarah rolls her eyes, drops a kiss to Jensen’s cheek and then rushes after the pups. Jeff slaps Jensen’s shoulder and pushes past him to greet Jared. 

“Gerry didn’t think he’d be welcome,” Sherry says quietly. 

Jensen knows that Jared and his dad haven’t talked since Jared first learned that they had been used to keep the media occupied. 

“Give them time. I’m sure they’ll be able to talk it out one day.”

Sherry smiles sadly. “I really hope you’re right. They’re my mate and my son. I hate to see them hurt each other.”

Jensen nods. “I know. It’ll be okay.”

Later, after everybody has left, Jared pulls Jensen onto the mattresses he’s laid out for them to sleep on and wraps him up in his arms tightly. 

“You really okay with moving?” 

Jensen snorts. “You ask me that again now? After you’ve moved all our things out there?”

Jared chuckles. “Yeah, well. I’d bring them back if you wanted.”

“No, I’m fine. I wanna move, Jay. Really.”

They kiss gently. “Okay. Then we’ll move. I love you, Jen.”

“Love you too, Jay.”

  


_Epilogue_  


Six Months Later

  


Jared’s running, his long legs stretching far and eating up the miles beneath his paws. The snow of the last few months is slowly melting away, giving way to new life and Jared can smell it, new and fresh. It feels good to be able to run every morning before going into the clinic.

Jensen’s at home with the pups, who are both growing like weeds. Alice and Colin are their fathers’ pride and joy and Jared still can’t believe they’re actually here. Now they’re waiting for their pups’ first shifting cycle and Jared can’t wait to see them run around for the first time. 

He only changes back into his human form when he’s inside the house again and makes his way upstairs. The cabin, how his mom called it, is more of a house, with two floors, three bedrooms, a large kitchen and a huge living room with a fireplace. 

After his morning shower, he slips back under the covers, where Jensen’s still sleeping. The baby monitor is silent so Jared prays that they have a little time to themselves. 

He licks a wet strip across Jensen’s back, sucking at his mating bite and biting lightly at the flesh. His mate stirs, pushing back his ass and rubbing it over Jared’s hard on. He can smell Jensen’s arousal and it leaves him dizzy with lust. 

“God, Jen… so fucking delicious.”

One of his hands starts to play with Jensen’s nipples, while the other reaches around and takes hold of his mate’s cock, jerking it lightly. 

“Shit, Jay,” Jensen moans. His voice deep and rough from sleep. 

Jared peppers small kisses down Jensen’s back, until his mouth reaches his mate’s lower back, then he uses one of his hands to pull apart Jensen’s cheeks and licks across the slick there, causing his mate to let out a scream and buck his hips. 

It’s wet and hot and perfect and Jared pushes his tongue inside, all the while still jerking Jensen’s cock, which is steadily leaking pre-come. 

“Taste so good, Jen,” he breathes, before pushing two of his fingers inside Jensen’s body. 

He scissors them and loves how Jensen writhes beneath him, pushing his ass onto Jared’s fingers. 

“Please, Jay… do it, need it.”

“Hmm,” Jared hums, pulling his fingers out and pushing his rock hard cock in. Gladly, they don’t have to worry about another pregnancy. Shortly after Jensen gave birth they found out that there are ways to avoid that and now Jensen’s on the pill. “So tight.”

“God, Jared, fuck me.”

How can he refuse with Jensen asking so nicely? He starts fucking him in earnest and he can feel his knot building, pushing inside Jensen’s body and locking them together. Jared loves the feeling of being confined to Jensen. It makes the sex so much more special. 

Jensen comes first with Jared’s name on his lips, but Jared’s not very far behind with the way Jensen clenches around his knot. He sinks his teeth into Jensen’s shoulder, where his mating bite is and sucks a bruise to the skin, while he pumps his come into his mate.

“Hmm, I love mornings like these,” Jensen moans. 

Jared chuckles. “Yeah, me too.” He rocks his hips and shudders at the new wave of pleasure surging through his veins. “Could stay in bed with you forever.”

“You have to go into the clinic today?”

Jared shakes his head. “Nope. It’s the first day of the full moon and with the possibility of the pups shifting for the first time, I took the day off.”

Jensen presses a kiss to the inside of his wrist. “Can’t wait for them to change. They’re gonna love romping around outside.”

“I can’t wait to romp around with them together.”

Jensen chuckles, the vibrations going right to Jared’s cock. “God, baby.” He brings his hand around to tug on Jensen’s balls a little, which makes his mate moan. 

“Jay, c’mon…”

He pushes his knot right up against Jensen’s prostate, feeling him shudder against Jared. He does it again and again until his mate is moaning and writhing, mumbling incoherent words of _harderfastermore_.

Jensen comes again and Jared holds him, jerking him through the aftershocks, while his own orgasm still rips through him. 

It’s a perfect morning.

  


When the pups wake up, Jared and Jensen know that today is the day. Both are unusually tense and fussy. Nothing helps and Jensen knows why that is. He still remembers how he felt when the pull of the moon almost got to be too much during his first shifting cycle. 

They try to keep the pups entertained, but Alice won’t stop crying and Colin isn’t any better. So the day consists of making bottles and carrying the pups around.

Jensen’s glad when the sun slowly goes down. He had already stripped Alice and Colin out of their onesies and now they’re all lying in front of the fireplace on a warm blanket. The pups are only in their diapers and Jensen watches Jared blowing kisses against their naked stomachs. It seems to at least stop the crying. 

He tickles Colin’s foot when he has the feeling that his son will start to cry again and almost gets his nose broken when the pup kicks out. He chuckles and bites at the soft skin lightly. 

“You’re going to be a soccer player one day. Daddy already knew that when you were still in his belly.”

Colin smiles up at his dad and Jensen leans down to kiss his son. But instead of soft skin, he meets soft fur. He pulls back in shock and sees that he’s holding a wolf puppy in his hands, that’s wriggling to get away. 

“Jay,” he breathes. 

“Oh my…” Jared says and holds up Alice. 

She’s in her wolf form too. Both pups’ fur is a combination of Jared’s grey and Jensen’s gold. One look is enough for Jensen and Jared to change into their wolf forms too and then they’re shooing the pups outside. The little ones are still a little shaky on their feet, but Jensen can feel their love for Jared and him and his heart bursts with love. 

He takes Alice by the scruff and carries her down the stairs that lead to the back yard. There are still a few spots where the snow has not melted away yet and he watches in awe when his pups trot over to inspect the white fluff. They both seem surprised when they realize that it’s cold, because they jump back a little but then Jared’s there, throwing snow at them with one of his paws, and soon his mate and their pups are one big ball of snow. 

Jensen loves watching from a bit of a distance. It’s been over a year since Jared inadvertently turned him into a werewolf and Jensen couldn’t be happier about it. 

**The End** (for now ;-)) 


End file.
